seaplane

/ˈsiˌpleɪn/

//ˈsiˌpleɪn// noun

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

"seaplane" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“seaplane” is uncommon English (frequency #50,793 among 6,566 “S” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#50,793
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Any aircraft capable of taking off from, and alighting on the surface of water.

Corpus desk

Index EN-seaplane · seaplane · English

seaplane · rank #50,793 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #50,793
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH selflessly

Nearest frequency peer: selflessly (+2 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 “seaplane”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “seaplane” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for seaplane
PropertyValue
Headwordseaplane
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈsiˌpleɪn/
Letters8
Frequency rank#50,793
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “seaplane” in English

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).seaplanefalls in this rarity band:

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Rare peers in the same band: “selflessly” (#50,795), “Schopenhauer” (#50,790), “sequester” (#50,797). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “seaplane” is #50,793. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

seaplane is uncommon English at frequency #50,793 among 6,566 “S” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈsiˌpleɪn/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Any aircraft capable of taking off from, and alighting on the surface of water.".

seaplane doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

Etymologically, the entry records: From sea + plane. Supposedly coined by Winston Churchill. The correct English form is seaplane, spelled S-E-A-P-L-A-N-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Any aircraft capable of taking off from, and alighting on the surface of water.

Etymology

From sea + plane. Supposedly coined by Winston Churchill.

This word in other languages

hidroavión(Español)hydravion(Français)Wasserflugzeug(Deutsch)

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 "seaplane"?
"seaplane" is spelled S-E-A-P-L-A-N-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈsiˌpleɪn/.
What does "seaplane" mean?
As a noun, "seaplane" means: Any aircraft capable of taking off from, and alighting on the surface of water.
How do you pronounce "seaplane"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "seaplane" is /ˈsiˌpleɪn/. 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 "seaplane"?
From sea + plane. Supposedly coined by Winston Churchill. 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 "seaplane", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Sondheim#50,811Stefanie#50,821studious#50,824Tecumseh#50,834

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list