self-esteem
/ˌsɛlf.əˈstiːm/
"self-esteem" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“self-esteem” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 11
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Confidence in one's own worth; self-respect.
Corpus desk
Index EN-self-esteem · self-esteem · English
self-esteem · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MEGA 11 letters
- VOW-4 4 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "S" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
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.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | self-esteem |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˌsɛlf.əˈstiːm/ |
| Letters | 11 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “self-esteem” in English
Rare enough to double-check
self-esteem is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˌsɛlf.əˈstiːm/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Confidence in one's own worth; self-respect.".
Zero misspellings are on record for self-esteem in our index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: From self- + esteem. The correct English form is self-esteem, spelled S-E-L-F---E-S-T-E-E-M.
Definition
- 1Confidence in one's own worth; self-respect.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how self-esteem appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
American companies now put a great deal of effort into boosting their employees' self-esteem by handing out inflated job titles. Most likely, they think it also helps compensate for the longer hours, unpaid overtime and stagnant wages that have become standard. It doesn't.
People with high self-esteem think they're more popular, charming, and socially skilled than other people, but objective studies find no difference.
Etymology
From self- + esteem.
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). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.