shave

/ʃeɪv/

//ʃeɪv// verb

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

"shave" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“shave” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #9,248. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#9,248
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
7
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To make (the head, skin etc.) bald or (the hair) shorter by using a tool such as a razor or electric clippers to cut the hair close to the skin.

Corpus desk

Index EN-shave · shave · English

shave · rank #9,248 · 7 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #9,248
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 7 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH sage

Nearest frequency peer: sage (-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 “shave”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “shave” 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).

shave vs she
60% similar
shave vs shoe
60% similar
shave vs shaw
60% similar

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

Key facts for shave
PropertyValue
Headwordshave
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/ʃeɪv/
Letters5
Frequency rank#9,248
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “shave”

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).shavelands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “sage” (#9,247), “sickness” (#9,249), “reset” (#9,246). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “shave” is #9,248. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 7 spelling variants around shave (IPA /ʃeɪv/), averb. Corpus frequency is #9,248 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 9 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for shave, with forms such as "hsave", "sahve", and "shaev". 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 20 confusable-pair relationships, "she", "shoe", "shaw", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: Inherited from Middle English shaven, schaven, from Old English sċafan (“to shave, scrape, shred, polish”), from Proto-West Germanic *skaban, from Proto-Germanic *skabaną (“to scrape”), from Proto-Indo-European *skabʰ- (“to cut, split, form, carve”). Cognat… The correct English form is shave, spelled S-H-A-V-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    To make (the head, skin etc.) bald or (the hair) shorter by using a tool such as a razor or electric clippers to cut the hair close to the skin.
  2. 2
    To cut anything in this fashion.
  3. 3
    To remove hair from one's face by this means.
  4. 4
    To cut finely, for example slices of meat.
  5. 5
    To skim along or near the surface of; to pass close to, or touch lightly, in passing.
  6. 6
    To reduce in size, weight, time taken etc., usually by a small amount.
  7. 7
    To be hard and severe in a bargain with; to practice extortion on; to cheat.
  8. 8
    To buy (a note) at a discount greater than the legal rate of interest, or to deduct in discounting it more than the legal rate allows.
  9. 9
    To injure by employing a knife.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. The Lab'rer vvith the bending Scythe is ſeen / Shaving the Surface of the vvaving Green; […]
  2. I had little time to shave this morning.

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English shaven, schaven, from Old English sċafan (“to shave, scrape, shred, polish”), from Proto-West Germanic *skaban, from Proto-Germanic *skabaną (“to scrape”), from Proto-Indo-European *skabʰ- (“to cut, split, form, carve”). Cognate with West Frisian skave, Dutch schaven, Low German schaven, German schaben, Danish skave, Norwegian Nynorsk skava, Swedish skava, Icelandic skafa, Gothic 𐍃𐌺𐌰𐌱𐌰𐌽 (skaban), all roughly “to scrape, chafe, shave, plane, remove the outer lay of”.

This word in other languages

afeitar(Español)raser(Français)rasieren(Deutsch)raspar(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • hsave
  • sahve
  • shaev
  • shavve
  • shhave
  • shvae
  • sshave

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

hsave2sahve2shaev2shavve1shhave1shvae2sshave1
Edit distance from "shave"

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 "shave"?
"shave" is spelled S-H-A-V-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ʃeɪv/.
What does "shave" mean?
As a verb, "shave" means: To make (the head, skin etc.) bald or (the hair) shorter by using a tool such as a razor or electric clippers to cut the hair close to the skin.
What words are commonly confused with "shave"?
"shave" is commonly confused with "she", "shoe", "shaw". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "shave"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "shave" is /ʃeɪv/. 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 "shave"?
Inherited from Middle English shaven, schaven, from Old English sċafan (“to shave, scrape, shred, polish”), from Proto-West Germanic *skaban, from Proto-Germanic *skabaną (“to scrape”), from Proto-Indo-European *skabʰ- (“to cut, split, form, carve... 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 "shave", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

reset#9,246pumps#9,235vodka#9,273Nepal#9,215

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (7 here; floor ≥5).

Olivia7 variantsclues7 variantsinning7 variantsdecay7 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list