sharpie

/ˈʃɑɹpi/

//ˈʃɑɹpi// noun

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

"sharpie" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“sharpie” has 10 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #40,439. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#40,439
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
10
tracked misspellings
11
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - An alert person.

Corpus desk

Index EN-sharpie · sharpie · English

sharpie · rank #40,439 · 10 variants · 11 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #40,439
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 11 pairs
  • VAR-MID 10 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH señor

Nearest frequency peer: señor (-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 “sharpie”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “sharpie” 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).

sharpie vs sharps
71% similar
sharpie vs sharply
71% similar
sharpie vs share
71% similar

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

Key facts for sharpie
PropertyValue
Headwordsharpie
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈʃɑɹpi/
Letters7
Frequency rank#40,439
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs11
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “sharpie”

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).sharpielands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “señor” (#40,438), “Sheena” (#40,441), “searchlight” (#40,436). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “sharpie” is #40,439. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 10 spelling variants around sharpie (IPA /ˈʃɑɹpi/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #40,439 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 8 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for sharpie, with forms such as "hsarpie", "sahrpie", and "shaprie". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 11 confusable-pair relationships, "sharps", "sharply", "share", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From sharp + -ie (“diminutive suffix”). The correct English form is sharpie, spelled S-H-A-R-P-I-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    An alert person.
  2. 2
    A knowledgeable fisherman.
  3. 3
    A swindler.
  4. 4
    A long, narrow fishing boat used in shallow waters.
  5. 5
    Clipping of sharp-shinned hawk.
  6. 6
    Clipping of sharp-tailed sandpiper.
  7. 7
    A member of a violent, fashionably dressed youth gang of the 1960s and 1970s.
  8. 8
    A Sharpie or other brand of felt-tipped marker pen.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Eunice Marshall asked in a bored tone, "Are you, by any chance, selling magazines?" Daisy grinned childishly, enjoying Eunice's mistake. "You're quite a sharpie, aren't you, ma'am? You figured me out a whole lot faster than most people do."
  2. You have to beat a lot of real sharpies, guys who have been playing for years.

Etymology

From sharp + -ie (“diminutive suffix”).

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • hsarpie
  • sahrpie
  • shaprie
  • sharipe
  • sharpei
  • sharppie
  • sharrpie
  • shharpie
  • shrapie
  • ssharpie

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of sharpie - 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.

hsarpie2sahrpie2shaprie2sharipe2sharpei2sharppie1sharrpie1shharpie1
Edit distance from "sharpie"

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 "sharpie"?
"sharpie" is spelled S-H-A-R-P-I-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈʃɑɹpi/.
What does "sharpie" mean?
As a noun, "sharpie" means: An alert person.
What words are commonly confused with "sharpie"?
"sharpie" is commonly confused with "sharps", "sharply", "share". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "sharpie"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "sharpie" is /ˈʃɑɹpi/. 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 "sharpie"?
From sharp + -ie (“diminutive suffix”). 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 "sharpie", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

scepter#40,432sitters#40,449rigidly#40,420retweet#40,418

Similar misspelling depth

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

scurvy10 variantsscorch10 variantssingly10 variantsstiletto10 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list