self-killing

verb

"self-killing" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“self-killing” is outside the top-ranked English vocabulary, used as a verb - the kind of word writers most often double-check.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
12
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - present participle and gerund of self-kill

Key facts for self-killing
PropertyValue
Headwordself-killing
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
Letters12
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “self-killing” sits in English frequency

self-killing falls outside the top-100,000 ranked English words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for self-killing is 12 letters long, classified as a verb. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "present participle and gerund of self-kill".

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for self-killing, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. Our dataset records no confusable match here, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From self-kill + -ing. The correct English form is self-killing, spelled S-E-L-F---K-I-L-L-I-N-G.

Definition

  1. 1
    present participle and gerund of self-kill

Etymology

From self-kill + -ing.

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.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "self-killing"?
"self-killing" is spelled S-E-L-F---K-I-L-L-I-N-G.
What does "self-killing" mean?
As a verb, "self-killing" means: present participle and gerund of self-kill
What is the origin of the word "self-killing"?
From self-kill + -ing. 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 “self-killing”

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

  • The one correct English spelling is S-E-L-F---K-I-L-L-I-N-G - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list