seep

/siːp/

//siːp// verb

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

"seep" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“seep” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #37,680) as a verb. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#37,680
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
4
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To ooze or pass slowly through pores or other small openings, and in overly small quantities; said of liquids, etc.

Corpus desk

Index EN-seep · seep · English

seep · rank #37,680 · 4 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #37,680
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-LOW 4 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH secede

Nearest frequency peer: secede (-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.

Frequency neighbours of confusable “seep”

Peers at similar corpus weight, separate from look-alike pairs below

corpus weight

What this shows Bars place “seep” against nearest ranked English headwords, not a reprint of the confusable-pair desk.

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).

seep vs SP
0% similar
seep vs she
50% similar
seep vs set
50% similar

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

Key facts for seep
PropertyValue
Headwordseep
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/siːp/
Letters4
Frequency rank#37,680
Misspellings tracked4
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Corpus rank beside confusables of “seep”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).seeplands 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 “secede” (#37,679), “sensuous” (#37,681), “scuffle” (#37,678). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “seep” is #37,680. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for seep is neighbouring look-alikes ("SP", "she", …), not just typos; it is averb pronounced /siːp/. Frequency #37,680 among 6,566 “S” headwords. 5 recorded senses keep meaning in play.

Our generated misspelling index lists 4 likely wrong-spelling variants for seep, with forms such as "esep", "seepp", and "sepe". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "SP", "she", "set", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: Variant of sipe, from Middle English *sipen, from Old English sipian, from Proto-Germanic *sipōną, derivative of *sīpaną, from Proto-Indo-European *seyb-, *sib- (“to pour out, drip, trickle”). See also Middle Dutch sīpen (“to drip”), German Low German siepe… The correct English form is seep, spelled S-E-E-P.

Definition

  1. 1
    To ooze or pass slowly through pores or other small openings, and in overly small quantities; said of liquids, etc.
  2. 2
    To enter or penetrate slowly; to spread or diffuse.
  3. 3
    To diminish or wane away slowly.
  4. 4
    (of a crack etc.) To allow a liquid to pass through, to leak.
  5. 5
    To soak.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Water has seeped through the roof.
  2. The water steadily seeped in through the thirl.

Etymology

Variant of sipe, from Middle English *sipen, from Old English sipian, from Proto-Germanic *sipōną, derivative of *sīpaną, from Proto-Indo-European *seyb-, *sib- (“to pour out, drip, trickle”). See also Middle Dutch sīpen (“to drip”), German Low German siepern (“to seep”), archaic German seifen (“to trickle blood”); also Latin sēbum (“suet, tallow”), Ancient Greek εἴβω (eíbō, “to drop, drip”)). See soap.

Synonyms

leak

This word in other languages

filtrar(Español)suinter(Français)durchsickern(Deutsch)escoar(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • esep
  • seepp
  • sepe
  • sseep

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of seep - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

esep2seepp1sepe2sseep1
Edit distance from "seep"

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 "seep"?
"seep" is spelled S-E-E-P. The IPA pronunciation is /siːp/.
What does "seep" mean?
As a verb, "seep" means: To ooze or pass slowly through pores or other small openings, and in overly small quantities; said of liquids, etc.
What words are commonly confused with "seep"?
"seep" is commonly confused with "SP", "she", "set". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "seep"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "seep" is /siːp/. 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 "seep"?
Variant of sipe, from Middle English *sipen, from Old English sipian, from Proto-Germanic *sipōną, derivative of *sīpaną, from Proto-Indo-European *seyb-, *sib- (“to pour out, drip, trickle”). See also Middle Dutch sīpen (“to drip”), German Low Ge... 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 "seep", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

scab#37,672Sulu#37,718phat#37,626pare#37,620

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list