screed
/skɹiːd/
"screed" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“screed” is an uncommon English word, ranked #65,485 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #65,485
- frequency rank, English
- 6
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A piece of writing (such as an article, letter, or list) or a speech, especially if long.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | screed |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /skɹiːd/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #65,485 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “screed” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for screed is 6 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /skɹiːd/. Corpus data places it at rank #65,485 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 9 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for screed, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. 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 English screde [and other forms], a variant of shrede (“fragment, scrap; strip of cloth; strip cut off from a larger piece; band or thread woven into fabric; element, streak”) (whence shred (noun)), from Old English sċrēad, sċrēade (“a piece cut… The correct English form is screed, spelled S-C-R-E-E-D.
Definition
- 1A piece of writing (such as an article, letter, or list) or a speech, especially if long.
- 2A speech or piece of writing which contains angry and extended criticism.
- 3Chiefly in the plural form screeds: a large quantity.
- 4Senses relating to building construction and masonry.
- 5Senses relating to building construction and masonry.
- 6Senses relating to building construction and masonry.
- 7A piece or narrow strip cut or torn off from a larger whole; a shred.
- 8A piece of land, especially one that is narrow.
- 9A rent, a tear.
Etymology
From Middle English screde [and other forms], a variant of shrede (“fragment, scrap; strip of cloth; strip cut off from a larger piece; band or thread woven into fabric; element, streak”) (whence shred (noun)), from Old English sċrēad, sċrēade (“a piece cut off; paring, shred”), from Proto-Germanic *skraudō (“a piece, shred; a cut, crack”), from *skraudaną (“to cut up, shred”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- (“to cut off”). The English word is cognate with Old Frisian skrēd. Doublet of escrow, scroll, and shred.
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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Using “screed”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is S-C-R-E-E-D - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /skɹiːd/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.