sexton

/ˈsɛk.stən/

//ˈsɛk.stən// noun

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

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

The verdict

“sexton” has 9 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #26,242. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#26,242
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
9
tracked misspellings
11
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A church official who looks after a church building and its graveyard and may act as a gravedigger and bell ringer.

Corpus desk

Index EN-sexton · sexton · English

sexton · rank #26,242 · 9 variants · 11 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #26,242
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 11 pairs
  • VAR-MID 9 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH Sheeran

Nearest frequency peer: Sheeran (+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 “sexton”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “sexton” 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).

sexton vs Sutton
50% similar
sexton vs Shelton
57% similar
sexton vs Skelton
57% similar

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

Key facts for sexton
PropertyValue
Headwordsexton
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈsɛk.stən/
Letters6
Frequency rank#26,242
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs11
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “sexton”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).sextonlands 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 “Sheeran” (#26,243), “sentry” (#26,240), “shelled” (#26,244). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “sexton” is #26,242. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 9 spelling variants around sexton (IPA /ˈsɛk.stən/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #26,242 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for sexton, with forms such as "esxton", "setxon", and "sexotn". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 11 confusable-pair relationships, "Sutton", "Shelton", "Skelton", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Old French segrestien, from Medieval Latin sacristanus, based on Latin sacer (“sacred”). Doublet of sacristan. The correct English form is sexton, spelled S-E-X-T-O-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    A church official who looks after a church building and its graveyard and may act as a gravedigger and bell ringer.
  2. 2
    A sexton beetle.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. on that same night, Mr Haredale, having strongly bound his prisoner, with the assistance of the sexton, and forced him to mount his horse, conducted him to Chigwell
  2. We stopped in the road and watched the sexton shovelling in the new earth. A peasant with a black beard and high leather boots stood beside the grave. The sexton stopped shovelling and straightened his back. The peasant in the high boots took the spade from the sexton and went on filling in the grave

Etymology

From Old French segrestien, from Medieval Latin sacristanus, based on Latin sacer (“sacred”). Doublet of sacristan.

This word in other languages

sacristán(Español)sacristain(Français)Küster(Deutsch)sacristão(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • esxton
  • setxon
  • sexotn
  • sextno
  • sextonn
  • sextton
  • sexxton
  • ssexton
  • sxeton

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of sexton - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

esxton2setxon2sexotn2sextno2sextonn1sextton1sexxton1ssexton1
Edit distance from "sexton"

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 "sexton"?
"sexton" is spelled S-E-X-T-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈsɛk.stən/.
What does "sexton" mean?
As a noun, "sexton" means: A church official who looks after a church building and its graveyard and may act as a gravedigger and bell ringer.
What words are commonly confused with "sexton"?
"sexton" is commonly confused with "Sutton", "Shelton", "Skelton". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "sexton"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "sexton" is /ˈsɛk.stən/. 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 "sexton"?
From Old French segrestien, from Medieval Latin sacristanus, based on Latin sacer (“sacred”). Doublet of sacristan. 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 "sexton", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

sentry#26,240scribe#26,239Schulz#26,236strewn#26,268

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (9 here; floor ≥5).

shelled9 variantsskillet9 variantsslipper9 variantstinged9 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list