seethe

/siːð/

//siːð// verb

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

"seethe" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“seethe” is uncommon English (frequency #77,187 among 54,294 “S” headwords), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#77,187
frequency rank, English
54,294
“S” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Of a liquid or other substance, or a container holding it: to be boiled (vigorously); to become boiling hot.

Key facts for seethe
PropertyValue
Headwordseethe
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/siːð/
Letters6
Frequency rank#77,187
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “seethe” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). seethe lands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

seethe is uncommon English at frequency #77,187 among 54,294 “S” headwords, classed as averb, transcribed /siːð/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 9 senses are on record.

seethe has no tracked misspelling variants, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: The verb is derived from Middle English sethen, seeth (“to boil, seethe; to cook; etc.”) [and other forms], from Old English sēoþan (“to boil, seethe; to cook; etc.”), from Proto-West Germanic *seuþan, from Proto-Germanic *seuþaną (“to boil, seethe”), from … The correct English form is seethe, spelled S-E-E-T-H-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Of a liquid or other substance, or a container holding it: to be boiled (vigorously); to become boiling hot.
  2. 2
    Of a liquid, vapor, etc., or a container holding it: to foam or froth in an agitated manner, as if boiling.
  3. 3
    Of a person: to be in an agitated or angry mental state, often in a way that is not obvious to others.
  4. 4
    Of a place: to be filled with many people or things moving about actively; to buzz with activity; also, of people or things: to move about actively in a crowd or group.
  5. 5
    Of a place: to have inhabitants in an angry or disaffected mood; to be in a state of unrest.
  6. 6
    To overboil (something) so that it loses its flavour or texture; hence (figurative), to cause (the body, the mind, the spirit, etc.) to become dull through too much alcoholic drink or heat.
  7. 7
    To soak (something) in a liquid; to drench, to steep.
  8. 8
    To boil (something); especially, to cook (food) by boiling or stewing; also, to keep (something) boiling.
  9. 9
    Of the stomach: to digest (food).

Etymology

The verb is derived from Middle English sethen, seeth (“to boil, seethe; to cook; etc.”) [and other forms], from Old English sēoþan (“to boil, seethe; to cook; etc.”), from Proto-West Germanic *seuþan, from Proto-Germanic *seuþaną (“to boil, seethe”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂sewt-, *h₂sew-, *h₂sut- (“to move about, roil, seethe”). The noun is derived from the verb. Cognates * Albanian zjej (“to boil, seethe”) * Danish syde (“to seethe, boil”) * Dutch zieden (“to boil, seethe”) * German sieden (“to boil, seethe”) * Gothic 𐍃𐌰𐌿𐌸𐍃 (sauþs, “burnt offering, sacrifice”) * Icelandic sjóða (“to boil, seethe”) * Low German seden (“to seethe”) * Norwegian Bokmål syde (“to boil, seethe”) * Norwegian Nynorsk sjoda, syda (“to boil, seethe”) * Scots seth, seith (“to seethe”) * Swedish sjuda (“to boil, seethe”) * West Frisian siede (“to boil”)

This word in other languages

hervir(Español)bouillonner(Français)sieden(Deutsch)fervilhar(Português)

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 "seethe"?
"seethe" is spelled S-E-E-T-H-E. The IPA pronunciation is /siːð/.
What does "seethe" mean?
As a verb, "seethe" means: Of a liquid or other substance, or a container holding it: to be boiled (vigorously); to become boiling hot.
How do you pronounce "seethe"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "seethe" is /siːð/. 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 "seethe"?
The verb is derived from Middle English sethen, seeth (“to boil, seethe; to cook; etc.”) [and other forms], from Old English sēoþan (“to boil, seethe; to cook; etc.”), from Proto-West Germanic *seuþan, from Proto-Germanic *seuþaną (“to boil, seeth... 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.

Using “seethe”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is S-E-E-T-H-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /siːð/ (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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list