sentry

/ˈsɛn.tɹi/

//ˈsɛn.tɹi// noun

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

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

The verdict

“sentry” has 10 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #26,240. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#26,240
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
10
tracked misspellings
7
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A guard, particularly on duty at the entrance to a military base.

Corpus desk

Index EN-sentry · sentry · English

sentry · rank #26,240 · 10 variants · 7 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #26,240
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 7 pairs
  • VAR-MID 10 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH scribe

Nearest frequency peer: scribe (-1 rank slots)

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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “sentry”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “sentry” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

sentry vs sultry
67% similar
sentry vs sundry
67% similar
sentry vs sent
67% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for sentry
PropertyValue
Headwordsentry
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈsɛn.tɹi/
Letters6
Frequency rank#26,240
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs7
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “sentry”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).sentrylands here:

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “scribe” (#26,239), “sexton” (#26,242), “scorching” (#26,237). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “sentry” is #26,240. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 10 spelling variants around sentry (IPA /ˈsɛn.tɹi/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #26,240 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 5 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for sentry, with forms such as "esntry", "senntry", and "senrty". 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 7 confusable-pair relationships, "sultry", "sundry", "sent", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From earlier sentrie, sentery, of uncertain origin. Perhaps an alteration of sentinel or sanctuary; or perhaps from Old French senteret (“a path”), diminutive of sentier, from Medieval Latin semitarius (“a path”). The correct English form is sentry, spelled S-E-N-T-R-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    A guard, particularly on duty at the entrance to a military base.
  2. 2
    Sentry duty; time spent being a sentry.
  3. 3
    A form of drag to be towed underwater, which on striking bottom is upset and rises to the surface.
  4. 4
    A watchtower.
  5. 5
    An animal like a marmot tasked with alerting the pack to danger.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

These source excerpts show how sentry appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Additional sentries are keeping watch for any signs of an ambush.

Etymology

From earlier sentrie, sentery, of uncertain origin. Perhaps an alteration of sentinel or sanctuary; or perhaps from Old French senteret (“a path”), diminutive of sentier, from Medieval Latin semitarius (“a path”).

Synonyms

kite

This word in other languages

torreón(Español)sentinelle(Français)Wache(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • esntry
  • senntry
  • senrty
  • sentrry
  • sentryy
  • senttry
  • sentyr
  • setnry
  • snetry
  • ssentry

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of sentry - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

esntry2senntry1senrty2sentrry1sentryy1senttry1sentyr2setnry2
Edit distance from "sentry"

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 "sentry"?
"sentry" is spelled S-E-N-T-R-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈsɛn.tɹi/.
What does "sentry" mean?
As a noun, "sentry" means: A guard, particularly on duty at the entrance to a military base.
What words are commonly confused with "sentry"?
"sentry" is commonly confused with "sultry", "sundry", "sent". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "sentry"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "sentry" is /ˈsɛn.tɹi/. 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 "sentry"?
From earlier sentrie, sentery, of uncertain origin. Perhaps an alteration of sentinel or sanctuary; or perhaps from Old French senteret (“a path”), diminutive of sentier, from Medieval Latin semitarius (“a path”). 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.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "sentry", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

scribe#26,239sexton#26,242Schulz#26,236strewn#26,268

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (10 here; floor ≥5).

Sheeran10 variantsspecter10 variantsPolaris10 variantstoolkit10 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list