sherbet

/ˈʃɜː.bət/

//ˈʃɜː.bət// noun

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

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

The verdict

“sherbet” is uncommon English (frequency #53,246 among 6,566 “S” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#53,246
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A dessert of frozen fruit juice with a dairy product such as milk added; a sorbet with dairy ingredients.

Corpus desk

Index EN-sherbet · sherbet · English

sherbet · rank #53,246 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #53,246
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH sheepskin

Nearest frequency peer: sheepskin (-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.

Long-tail ranks near “sherbet”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “sherbet” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for sherbet
PropertyValue
Headwordsherbet
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈʃɜː.bət/
Letters7
Frequency rank#53,246
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “sherbet” in English

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).sherbetfalls in this rarity band:

#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. Rare peers in the same band: “sheepskin” (#53,245), “Shimizu” (#53,247), “Shoreham” (#53,248). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “sherbet” is #53,246. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

sherbet is uncommon English at frequency #53,246 among 6,566 “S” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈʃɜː.bət/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 4 senses are on record.

Zero misspellings are on record for sherbet in our index, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: Etymology tree Arabic شَرِبَ (šariba)der. Arabic شَرْبَة (šarba)bor. Classical Persian شَرْبَت (šarbat)bor. Ottoman Turkish شربت (şerbet)bor. English sherbet Borrowed from Ottoman Turkish شربت (şerbet), borrowed from Classical Persian شَرْبَت (šarbat), borr… The correct English form is sherbet, spelled S-H-E-R-B-E-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    A dessert of frozen fruit juice with a dairy product such as milk added; a sorbet with dairy ingredients.
  2. 2
    An effervescent powder made of bicarbonate of soda, sugar and flavourings, intended to be eaten alone or mixed with water to make a drink.
  3. 3
    A traditional West and South Asian sweet drink prepared from fruits or flower petals.
  4. 4
    An alcoholic drink, especially beer.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Directly they were trotted off in their little pea-green and gilt carriage, guardian negress and all, I went into the shop, about which I had all this time been loafingly prowling, and called, clapping my hands, for some violet sherbet, […]
  2. Tea is becoming a favourite drink in Turkey, not instead of coffee, but of the sherbet or cool drinks that are handed to guests; it comes generally from Russia, and although a trifle dear on account of the carriage, is extremely good, when properly made.

Etymology

Etymology tree Arabic شَرِبَ (šariba)der. Arabic شَرْبَة (šarba)bor. Classical Persian شَرْبَت (šarbat)bor. Ottoman Turkish شربت (şerbet)bor. English sherbet Borrowed from Ottoman Turkish شربت (şerbet), borrowed from Classical Persian شَرْبَت (šarbat), borrowed from Arabic شَرْبَة (šarba), from شَرِبَ (šariba). Doublet of sorbet and sharbat, related to syrup.

Synonyms

sharbat

This word in other languages

sorbete(Español)sorbet(Français)Sorbet(Deutsch)sorvete(Português)

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 "sherbet"?
"sherbet" is spelled S-H-E-R-B-E-T. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈʃɜː.bət/.
What does "sherbet" mean?
As a noun, "sherbet" means: A dessert of frozen fruit juice with a dairy product such as milk added; a sorbet with dairy ingredients.
How do you pronounce "sherbet"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "sherbet" is /ˈʃɜː.bət/. 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 "sherbet"?
Etymology tree Arabic شَرِبَ (šariba)der. Arabic شَرْبَة (šarba)bor. Classical Persian شَرْبَت (šarbat)bor. Ottoman Turkish شربت (şerbet)bor. English sherbet Borrowed from Ottoman Turkish شربت (şerbet), borrowed from Classical Persian شَرْبَت (šar... 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 "sherbet", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

Shimizu#53,247skeeter#53,255skelter#53,256sceptic#53,229

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list