shit

/ʃɪt/

//ʃɪt// noun

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

"shit" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“shit” has 6 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #316. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#316
frequency rank, English
54,294
“S” headwords
6
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Usually solid excretory product evacuated from the bowels; feces.

Corpus desk

Index EN-shit · shit · English

shit · rank #316 · 6 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-CORE #316
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 6 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 54,294
  • PHOTO-FINISH season

Nearest frequency peer: season (-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 “shit”

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

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “shit” 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

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

shit vs SI
0% similar
shit vs six
50% similar
shit vs sir
50% similar

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

Key facts for shit
PropertyValue
Headwordshit
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ʃɪt/
Letters4
Frequency rank#316
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “shit” 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). shit lands here:

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

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

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 6 spelling variants around shit (IPA /ʃɪt/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #316 among 54,294 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 14 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for shit, with forms such as "hsit", "shhit", and "shitt". 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, "SI", "six", "sir", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English schit, schyt, from Old English *sċite (“dung”) and sċitte (“diarrhoea”), from Proto-West Germanic *skiti and *skittjā, from Proto-Germanic *skitiz, from Proto-Indo-European *skeyd- (“to split, divide, separate”). Related to Saterland Fri… The correct English form is shit, spelled S-H-I-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    Usually solid excretory product evacuated from the bowels; feces.
  2. 2
    The act of shitting.
  3. 3
    Rubbish; worthless matter.
  4. 4
    Stuff, things.
  5. 5
    (the shit) The best of its kind.
  6. 6
    Genitalia, especially male.
  7. 7
    Nonsense; bullshit.
  8. 8
    A nasty, despicable person, used particularly of men.
  9. 9
    (in negations) Anything.
  10. 10
    The smallest amount of concern or consideration.
  11. 11
    A problem or difficult situation.
  12. 12
    A strong rebuke.
  13. 13
    Any recreational drug (e.g. cannabis, heroin, etc.).
  14. 14
    Anything exceptional or remarkable.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. The practice in most African and some Asian cities is for private lorries to suck up human waste and dump it in rivers. [...] In tackling the shit problem, economics could well be a clincher.
  2. Throw that shit out!

Etymology

From Middle English schit, schyt, from Old English *sċite (“dung”) and sċitte (“diarrhoea”), from Proto-West Germanic *skiti and *skittjā, from Proto-Germanic *skitiz, from Proto-Indo-European *skeyd- (“to split, divide, separate”). Related to Saterland Frisian Skiete, West Frisian skyte, skyt, Dutch schijt, German Low German Schiet, German Scheiße, Danish skidt, Swedish and Norwegian Nynorsk skit, Norwegian Bokmål skitt, Icelandic skítur. Compare shite. Doublet of scheisse.

This word in other languages

mierda(Español)merde(Français)Scheiße(Deutsch)merda(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • hsit
  • shhit
  • shitt
  • shti
  • siht
  • sshit

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

hsit2shhit1shitt1shti2siht2sshit1
Edit distance from "shit"

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 "shit"?
"shit" is spelled S-H-I-T. The IPA pronunciation is /ʃɪt/.
What does "shit" mean?
As a noun, "shit" means: Usually solid excretory product evacuated from the bowels; feces.
What words are commonly confused with "shit"?
"shit" is commonly confused with "SI", "six", "sir". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "shit"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "shit" is /ʃɪt/. 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 "shit"?
From Middle English schit, schyt, from Old English *sċite (“dung”) and sċitte (“diarrhoea”), from Proto-West Germanic *skiti and *skittjā, from Proto-Germanic *skitiz, from Proto-Indo-European *skeyd- (“to split, divide, separate”). Related to Sat... 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 "shit", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

open#314says#310area#325line#306

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (6 here; floor ≥5).

using6 variantswent6 variantskind6 variantssmall6 variants
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