scour

/ˈskaʊə/

//ˈskaʊə// verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"scour" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“scour” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #30,216. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#30,216
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
7
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To clean, polish, or wash (something) by rubbing and scrubbing it vigorously, frequently with an abrasive or cleaning agent.

Corpus desk

Index EN-scour · scour · English

scour · rank #30,216 · 7 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #30,216
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 7 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH scathing

Nearest frequency peer: scathing (-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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “scour”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “scour” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

scour vs sou
60% similar
scour vs sor
60% similar
scour vs soul
60% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for scour
PropertyValue
Headwordscour
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/ˈskaʊə/
Letters5
Frequency rank#30,216
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “scour”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).scourlands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “scathing” (#30,215), “Seagulls” (#30,217), “serviceable” (#30,218). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “scour” is #30,216. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 7 spelling variants around scour (IPA /ˈskaʊə/), averb. Corpus frequency is #30,216 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 5 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for scour, with forms such as "csour", "sccour", and "scoru". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "sou", "sor", "soul", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English scǒuren (“to polish, scour; to clean; to beat, whip”), from Middle Dutch scuren, schuren (“to clean; to polish”) or Middle Low German schǖren, of uncertain origin but probably from Old French escurer, from Medieval Latin scūrō, escūrō, e… The correct English form is scour, spelled S-C-O-U-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    To clean, polish, or wash (something) by rubbing and scrubbing it vigorously, frequently with an abrasive or cleaning agent.
  2. 2
    To remove debris and dirt (from something) by purging; to sweep along or off by a current of water.
  3. 3
    To clear the digestive tract (of an animal) by administering medication that induces defecation or vomiting; to purge.
  4. 4
    To (cause livestock to) suffer from diarrhoea or dysentery.
  5. 5
    To cleanse (something) without rubbing.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how scour appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. He scoured the burnt food from the pan.
  2. If tranſcribers and printers, or editors, will be perpetually varying from the ſpelling of their author, we ſhall neceſſarily have a conſtant ſource of corruption: for by this alteration, which inſenſibly goes on from ſmaller to greater things, that antique caſt is loſt, which of itſelf carries ſo venerable an aſpect; and our modern editors, in this reſpe…

Etymology

From Middle English scǒuren (“to polish, scour; to clean; to beat, whip”), from Middle Dutch scuren, schuren (“to clean; to polish”) or Middle Low German schǖren, of uncertain origin but probably from Old French escurer, from Medieval Latin scūrō, escūrō, excūrō (“to clean off”), from ex- (“thoroughly”) + cūrō (“to arrange, see to, take care of”), from cūra (“care, concern”) (from Proto-Indo-European *kʷeys- (“to heed”)) + -ō. The word is cognate with Danish skure, Middle High German schüren, schiuren (modern German scheuern (“to scour, scrub; to chafe”)), Norwegian skura (“to scrub”), Swedish skura, Catalan escurar.

This word in other languages

fregar(Español)récurer(Français)scheuern(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • csour
  • sccour
  • scoru
  • scourr
  • scuor
  • socur
  • sscour

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of scour - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

csour2sccour1scoru2scourr1scuor2socur2sscour1
Edit distance from "scour"

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

How do you spell "scour"?
"scour" is spelled S-C-O-U-R. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈskaʊə/.
What does "scour" mean?
As a verb, "scour" means: To clean, polish, or wash (something) by rubbing and scrubbing it vigorously, frequently with an abrasive or cleaning agent.
What words are commonly confused with "scour"?
"scour" is commonly confused with "sou", "sor", "soul". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "scour"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "scour" is /ˈskaʊə/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "scour"?
From Middle English scǒuren (“to polish, scour; to clean; to beat, whip”), from Middle Dutch scuren, schuren (“to clean; to polish”) or Middle Low German schǖren, of uncertain origin but probably from Old French escurer, from Medieval Latin scūrō,... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "scour", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

snows#30,234pooch#30,179talon#30,254plums#30,177

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (7 here; floor ≥5).

mullet7 variantsMoshe7 variantsyearn7 variantsMehta7 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list