shoe

/ˈʃuː/

//ˈʃuː// noun

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

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

The verdict

“shoe” has 5 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #4,796. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#4,796
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
5
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A protective covering for the foot, with a bottom part composed of thick leather or plastic sole and often a thicker heel, and a softer upper part made of leather or synthetic material. Shoes gener...

Corpus desk

Index EN-shoe · shoe · English

shoe · rank #4,796 · 5 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #4,796
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 5 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH securities

Nearest frequency peer: securities (-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 “shoe”

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

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “shoe” 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 September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

shoe vs so
50% similar
shoe vs son
50% similar
shoe vs sue
50% similar

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

Key facts for shoe
PropertyValue
Headwordshoe
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈʃuː/
Letters4
Frequency rank#4,796
Misspellings tracked5
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “shoe” sits in English frequency

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).shoe lands 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. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 5 spelling variants around shoe (IPA /ˈʃuː/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #4,796 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 18 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 5 likely wrong-spelling variants for shoe, with forms such as "hsoe", "sheo", and "shhoe". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "so", "son", "sue", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English scho, sho, from Old English sċōh (“shoe”), from Proto-West Germanic *skōh, from Proto-Germanic *skōhaz (“shoe”), of unclear etymology; possibly a derivation from *skehaną (“to move quickly”), from Proto-Indo-European *skek- (“to move qui… The correct English form is shoe, spelled S-H-O-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A protective covering for the foot, with a bottom part composed of thick leather or plastic sole and often a thicker heel, and a softer upper part made of leather or synthetic material. Shoes generally do not extend above the ankle, as opposed to boots, which do.
  2. 2
    A piece of metal designed to be attached to a horse's foot as a means of protection; a horseshoe.
  3. 3
    A device for holding multiple decks of playing cards, allowing more games to be played by reducing the time between shuffles.
  4. 4
    Something resembling a shoe in form, position, or function, such as a brake shoe.
  5. 5
    Something resembling a shoe in form, position, or function, such as a brake shoe.
  6. 6
    Something resembling a shoe in form, position, or function, such as a brake shoe.
  7. 7
    Something resembling a shoe in form, position, or function, such as a brake shoe.
  8. 8
    Something resembling a shoe in form, position, or function, such as a brake shoe.
  9. 9
    Something resembling a shoe in form, position, or function, such as a brake shoe.
  10. 10
    Something resembling a shoe in form, position, or function, such as a brake shoe.
  11. 11
    Something resembling a shoe in form, position, or function, such as a brake shoe.
  12. 12
    Something resembling a shoe in form, position, or function, such as a brake shoe.
  13. 13
    Something resembling a shoe in form, position, or function, such as a brake shoe.
  14. 14
    Something resembling a shoe in form, position, or function, such as a brake shoe.
  15. 15
    Something resembling a shoe in form, position, or function, such as a brake shoe.
  16. 16
    The outer cover or tread of a pneumatic tire, especially for an automobile.
  17. 17
    A pneumatic tire, especially for an automobile.
  18. 18
    A fake passport.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Get your shoes on now, or you'll be late for school.
  2. Throw the shoe from behind the line, and try to get it to land circling (a ringer) or touching the far stake.

Etymology

From Middle English scho, sho, from Old English sċōh (“shoe”), from Proto-West Germanic *skōh, from Proto-Germanic *skōhaz (“shoe”), of unclear etymology; possibly a derivation from *skehaną (“to move quickly”), from Proto-Indo-European *skek- (“to move quickly, jump”). Eclipsed non-native Middle English sabatine, sabatoun (“shoe”) from Medieval Latin sabatēnum, sabatum (“shoe, slipper”) (compare Old Occitan sabatō, Spanish zapato (“shoe”), French sabot (“wooden shoe, clog”), Italian ciabatta). The archaic plural shoon is from Middle English shon, from Old English scōn, scōum (“shoes”, dative plural) and scōna (“shoes'”, genitive plural); it is cognate with Scots shuin (“shoes”). See also Scots shae, West Frisian skoech, Low German Schoh, Dutch schoen, German Schuh, Bavarian Schuach, Danish, Norwegian and Swedish sko, Tocharian B skāk (“balcony”).

Synonyms

shoekick

This word in other languages

zapato(Español)chaussure(Français)Schuh(Deutsch)calçado(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • hsoe
  • sheo
  • shhoe
  • sohe
  • sshoe

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

hsoe2sheo2shhoe1sohe2sshoe1
Edit distance from "shoe"

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 September 3, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "shoe"?
"shoe" is spelled S-H-O-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈʃuː/.
What does "shoe" mean?
As a noun, "shoe" means: A protective covering for the foot, with a bottom part composed of thick leather or plastic sole and often a thicker heel, and a softer upper part made of leather or synthetic material. Shoes gener...
What words are commonly confused with "shoe"?
"shoe" is commonly confused with "so", "son", "sue". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "shoe"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "shoe" is /ˈʃuː/. 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 "shoe"?
From Middle English scho, sho, from Old English sċōh (“shoe”), from Proto-West Germanic *skōh, from Proto-Germanic *skōhaz (“shoe”), of unclear etymology; possibly a derivation from *skehaną (“to move quickly”), from Proto-Indo-European *skek- (“t... 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 "shoe", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

mama#4,774lazy#4,773chef#4,835cock#4,839

Similar misspelling depth

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

Aaron5 variantsasset5 variantsGreg5 variantspole5 variants

What to do next

You've looked up "shoe". Here's where to go from here.

  • "shoe" maps to 20 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "so". View pair
  • 5 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
  • Usage frequency rank #4,796 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more English words in the "S" letter cohort. S–Z browse
  • PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

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