sensor
/ˈsɛn.sə/
"sensor" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“sensor” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #8,089 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #8,089
- frequency rank, English
- 6
- letters
- 9
- tracked misspellings
- 16
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A device or organ that detects certain external stimuli and responds in a distinctive manner.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | sensor |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈsɛn.sə/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #8,089 |
| Misspellings tracked | 9 |
| Confusable pairs | 16 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “sensor” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for sensor is 6 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈsɛn.sə/. Corpus data places it at rank #8,089 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "A device or organ that detects certain external stimuli and responds in a distinctive manner.".
Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for sensor, with forms such as "esnsor", "sennsor", and "senosr". 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 16 confusable-pair relationships, "sponsor", "sensory", "Spenser", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: Originated 1925–30, formed as a Latin loanword from sentiō (“to feel”) + -tor (“-er”). By surface analysis, sense + -or. The correct English form is sensor, spelled S-E-N-S-O-R.
Definition
- 1A device or organ that detects certain external stimuli and responds in a distinctive manner.
Etymology
Originated 1925–30, formed as a Latin loanword from sentiō (“to feel”) + -tor (“-er”). By surface analysis, sense + -or.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: esnsor,sennsor,senosr,sensorr,sensro,senssor,sesnor,snesor,ssensor
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of sensor - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
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
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Using “sensor”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is S-E-N-S-O-R - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈsɛn.sə/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “sponsor” - see the side-by-side comparison. sensor vs sponsor
- 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.