shipwright

/ˈʃɪpɹaɪt/

//ˈʃɪpɹaɪt// noun

"shipwright" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“shipwright” is uncommon English (frequency #98,712 among 54,294 “S” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#98,712
frequency rank, English
54,294
“S” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A person who designs, builds and repairs ships, especially wooden ones.

Corpus desk

Index EN-shipwright · shipwright · English

shipwright · rank #98,712 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #98,712
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 54,294
  • PHOTO-FINISH shooing

Nearest frequency peer: shooing (+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.

Frequency neighbourhood for “shipwright”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “shipwright” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of May 6, 2026
Key facts for shipwright
PropertyValue
Headwordshipwright
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈʃɪpɹaɪt/
Letters10
Frequency rank#98,712
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “shipwright” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). shipwright lands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

shipwright is uncommon English at frequency #98,712 among 54,294 “S” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈʃɪpɹaɪt/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A person who designs, builds and repairs ships, especially wooden ones.".

No misspelling variants are generated for shipwright in our index, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English shipwright, shippwright, schipwricht, ship-wriȝth, from Old English sċipwyrhta, equivalent to ship + wright (“builder”). The correct English form is shipwright, spelled S-H-I-P-W-R-I-G-H-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    A person who designs, builds and repairs ships, especially wooden ones.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. A shipwright is one who builds or repairs ships using whatever materials are available including, but not limited to wood, metal, plastic, and concrete. / A master shipwright is one who has learned to use his skills with precision and is capable of teaching them to others. His knowledge includes mathematics, mechanics, and the use of tool; they also inclu…

Etymology

From Middle English shipwright, shippwright, schipwricht, ship-wriȝth, from Old English sċipwyrhta, equivalent to ship + wright (“builder”).

This word in other languages

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.

PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of May 6, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "shipwright"?
"shipwright" is spelled S-H-I-P-W-R-I-G-H-T. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈʃɪpɹaɪt/.
What does "shipwright" mean?
As a noun, "shipwright" means: A person who designs, builds and repairs ships, especially wooden ones.
How do you pronounce "shipwright"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "shipwright" is /ˈʃɪpɹaɪt/. 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 "shipwright"?
From Middle English shipwright, shippwright, schipwricht, ship-wriȝth, from Old English sċipwyrhta, equivalent to ship + wright (“builder”). 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 "shipwright", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 10 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list