seersucker
/ˈsɪɹˌsʌk.ɚ/
"seersucker" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“seersucker” is uncommon English (frequency #97,541 among 54,294 “S” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #97,541
- frequency rank, English
- 54,294
- “S” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A thin, all-cotton fabric, commonly striped, used to make clothing for summer wear.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | seersucker |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈsɪɹˌsʌk.ɚ/ |
| Letters | 10 |
| Frequency rank | #97,541 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “seersucker” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
seersucker is uncommon English at frequency #97,541 among 54,294 “S” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈsɪɹˌsʌk.ɚ/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
seersucker doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Hindi शीरशक्कर (śīrśakkar), from Persian شیر و شکر (šir o šekar, literally “milk and sugar”), modified by folk etymology, originally alluding to the smooth (“milk”) and rough (“sugar”) surface of the stripes. The correct English form is seersucker, spelled S-E-E-R-S-U-C-K-E-R.
Definition
- 1A thin, all-cotton fabric, commonly striped, used to make clothing for summer wear.
- 2An article made from such fabric.
Etymology
From Hindi शीरशक्कर (śīrśakkar), from Persian شیر و شکر (šir o šekar, literally “milk and sugar”), modified by folk etymology, originally alluding to the smooth (“milk”) and rough (“sugar”) surface of the stripes.
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
How do you spell "seersucker"?
What does "seersucker" mean?
How do you pronounce "seersucker"?
What is the origin of the word "seersucker"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “seersucker”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is S-E-E-R-S-U-C-K-E-R - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈsɪɹˌsʌk.ɚ/ (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
Other uncommon English words near this rank
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.