scamp
/ˈskæmp/
"scamp" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“scamp” is uncommon English (frequency #65,483 among 6,566 “S” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #65,483
- frequency rank, English
- 6,566
- “S” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A rascal, swindler, or rogue; a ne'er-do-well.
Corpus desk
Index EN-scamp · scamp · English
scamp · rank #65,483 · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-RARE #65,483
- LEN-MID 5 letters
- VOW-1 1 vowel
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-DENSE 6,566
- PHOTO-FINISH schoolmate
Nearest frequency peer: schoolmate (+1 rank slots)
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
Long-tail ranks near “scamp”
Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter
- salience
salience
34,523 corpus weight
- Sandinista
Sandinista
34,521 corpus weight
- sassafras
sassafras
34,520 corpus weight
- scamp
scamp
34,518 corpus weight
- schoolmate
schoolmate
34,517 corpus weight
- screed
screed
34,516 corpus weight
What this shows Long-tail view: where “scamp” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | scamp |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈskæmp/ |
| Letters | 5 |
| Frequency rank | #65,483 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “scamp” in English
Rare enough to double-check
scamp is uncommon English at frequency #65,483 among 6,566 “S” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈskæmp/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for scamp, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. Our dataset records no confusable match here, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle Dutch schampen (“slip away”), from Old French escamper (“to run away, to make one's escape”), from Vulgar Latin *excampāre. Compare escape. The correct English form is scamp, spelled S-C-A-M-P.
Definition
- 1A rascal, swindler, or rogue; a ne'er-do-well.
- 2A mischievous person, especially a playful, impish youngster.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how scamp appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
"He is a scamp, he is and it isn't difficult to find his tracks and signs of his reckless shooting, for he can never wait, like other folks, till the birds have had a good start at their play."
My nephew is a little scamp who likes to leave lighted firecrackers under the lawnchairs of his dozing elders.
Etymology
From Middle Dutch schampen (“slip away”), from Old French escamper (“to run away, to make one's escape”), from Vulgar Latin *excampāre. Compare escape.
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "scamp", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).