shepherd

/ˈʃɛpəd/

//ˈʃɛpəd// noun

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

"shepherd" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“shepherd” has 13 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #8,348. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#8,348
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
13
tracked misspellings
2
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A person who tends sheep, especially a grazing flock.

Corpus desk

Index EN-shepherd · shepherd · English

shepherd · rank #8,348 · 13 variants · 2 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #8,348
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 2 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 13 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH shaft

Nearest frequency peer: shaft (-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 “shepherd”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “shepherd” 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).

shepherd vs Sheppard
63% similar
shepherd vs shepherds
89% similar

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

Key facts for shepherd
PropertyValue
Headwordshepherd
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈʃɛpəd/
Letters8
Frequency rank#8,348
Misspellings tracked13
Confusable pairs2
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “shepherd”

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).shepherdlands 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 “shaft” (#8,347), “shuttle” (#8,349), “sensation” (#8,346). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “shepherd” is #8,348. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 13 spelling variants around shepherd (IPA /ˈʃɛpəd/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #8,348 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 8 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 13 likely wrong-spelling variants for shepherd, with forms such as "hsepherd", "sehpherd", and "shehperd". 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 2 confusable-pair relationships, "Sheppard", "shepherds", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English schepherde, from Old English sċēaphierde, a compound of sċēap (“sheep”) and hierde (“herdsman”), equivalent to modern sheep + herd (“herder”). The correct English form is shepherd, spelled S-H-E-P-H-E-R-D.

Definition

  1. 1
    A person who tends sheep, especially a grazing flock.
  2. 2
    A person who tends sheep, especially a grazing flock.
  3. 3
    Someone who watches over, looks after, or guides somebody.
  4. 4
    Someone who watches over, looks after, or guides somebody.
  5. 5
    The pastor of a church; one who guides others in religion.
  6. 6
    The pastor of a church; one who guides others in religion.
  7. 7
    A swain; a rustic male lover.
  8. 8
    A German Shepherd.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. It was April 22, 1831, and a young man was walking down Whitehall in the direction of Parliament Street. He wore shepherd's plaid trousers and the swallow-tail coat of the day, with a figured muslin cravat wound about his wide-spread collar.
  2. The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

Etymology

From Middle English schepherde, from Old English sċēaphierde, a compound of sċēap (“sheep”) and hierde (“herdsman”), equivalent to modern sheep + herd (“herder”).

This word in other languages

pastor(Español)berger(Français)Schäfer(Deutsch)pastor(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • hsepherd
  • sehpherd
  • shehperd
  • shepehrd
  • shephedr
  • shepherdd
  • shepherrd
  • shephherd
  • shephred
  • sheppherd
  • shhepherd
  • shpeherd
  • sshepherd

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

hsepherd2sehpherd2shehperd2shepehrd2shephedr2shepherdd1shepherrd1shephherd1
Edit distance from "shepherd"

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 "shepherd"?
"shepherd" is spelled S-H-E-P-H-E-R-D. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈʃɛpəd/.
What does "shepherd" mean?
As a noun, "shepherd" means: A person who tends sheep, especially a grazing flock.
What words are commonly confused with "shepherd"?
"shepherd" is commonly confused with "Sheppard", "shepherds". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "shepherd"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "shepherd" is /ˈʃɛpəd/. 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 "shepherd"?
From Middle English schepherde, from Old English sċēaphierde, a compound of sċēap (“sheep”) and hierde (“herdsman”), equivalent to modern sheep + herd (“herder”). 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 "shepherd", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

sounding#8,352respects#8,342relaxing#8,340terrific#8,364

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (13 here; floor ≥5).

Sebastian13 variantsreservoir13 variantspetroleum13 variantshistorian13 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list