sex
Definition, pronunciation, etymology, and usage for the English word. Free spelling reference powered by Wiktionary.
Letters
3 characters
Language
English
word origin
Source
Wiktionary
open dictionary
Access
Free
no sign-up needed
Detailed reference entry for the English word "sex", 3-letters, with pronunciation in International Phonetic Alphabet notation, etymology traced through Germanic and Romance roots where applicable, common misspelling variants catalogued from Hunspell error dictionaries, and usage frequency ranked against the top 100,000 English words in the Wordfreq corpus. PlainSpell covers English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German spelling with confusable-pair detection that highlights visually and phonetically similar words. This entry for "sex" includes synonyms, antonyms, homophones, and cross-language translation pointers sourced from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org extract. Whether you are verifying the correct spelling of "sex" for academic writing, checking homophone confusion, or exploring etymological origins, this page provides a citation-backed, free reference that requires no sign-up.
sex is aEnglishnoun. It means: A category into which sexually-reproducing organisms are divided on the basis of their reproductive roles in their species; the system of such categories, which can differ by organism or by taxonom... Pronounced /sɛks/. It ranks #611 in English word frequency. Often confused with so and SI.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | sex |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /sɛks/ |
| Letters | 3 |
| Frequency rank | #611 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Frequency rank visualization
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for sex is 3 letters long, classified as anoun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /sɛks/. Corpus data places it at rank #611 in overall English word frequency, putting it firmly in the everyday core of the language.Wiktionary records 7 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
No frequent misspelling variants are recorded for sex in our index, suggesting the orthography either follows predictable English patterns or the word is uncommon enough that typo corpora lack signal.It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "so", "SI", "SS", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *sek-der. Proto-Indo-European *séksusder. Proto-Italic *seksus Latin sexusder. Old French sexeder. Middle English sexe English sex From Middle English sexe (“sex [distinction between male and female] and gender”), from Old… Root origin matters for spelling because borrowed morphemes (Greek, Latin, Old French, Old English) carry their source-language orthographic conventions into modern English, which is why historical etymology is often the cleanest predictor of whether a cluster like "-ough", "-eau", or "-tion" will appear. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct English form is sex, spelled S-E-X, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.
Definition
- 1A category into which sexually-reproducing organisms are divided on the basis of their reproductive roles in their species; the system of such categories, which can differ by organism or by taxonomic branch.
- 2Another category, especially of humans and especially based on sexuality or gender roles.
- 3The members of such a category, taken collectively.
- 4The distinction and relation between these categories, especially in humans; gender.
- 5Women; the human female gender and those who belong to it.
- 6Sexual activity, usually sexual intercourse unless preceded by a modifier.
- 7Genitalia: a penis or vagina/vulva.
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *sek-der. Proto-Indo-European *séksusder. Proto-Italic *seksus Latin sexusder. Old French sexeder. Middle English sexe English sex From Middle English sexe (“sex [distinction between male and female] and gender”), from Old French sexe (“genitals; gender”), from Latin sexus (“gender; gender traits; males or females; genitals”), from Proto-Italic *seksus, from Proto-Indo-European *séksus, from *sek- (“to cut, cut off, sever”), thus meaning "section, division" (into male and female). Usage for women influenced by Middle French le sexe (“women”) (attested in 1580). Usage for third and additional sexes calqued from French troisième sexe, referring to masculine women in 1817 and homosexuals in 1847. First used by Lord Byron and others in English in reference to Catholic clergy. Usage for sexual intercourse first attested in 1899 (in the writings of H. G. Wells).
Synonyms
This word in other languages
Frequency rank: #611 in English
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you spell "sex"?
What does "sex" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "sex"?
How do you pronounce "sex"?
What is the origin of the word "sex"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Nearby English words
Other entries that begin with the letter S in our English index: