shrapnel
/ˈʃɹæpnəl/
"shrapnel" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“shrapnel” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #23,994 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #23,994
- frequency rank, English
- 8
- letters
- 13
- tracked misspellings
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - An anti-personnel artillery shell used in World War I which carries a large number of individual bullets or balls close to the target and then ejects them to allow them to continue along the shell'...
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | shrapnel |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈʃɹæpnəl/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #23,994 |
| Misspellings tracked | 13 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “shrapnel” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for shrapnel is 8 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈʃɹæpnəl/. Corpus data places it at rank #23,994 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 5 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 13 likely wrong-spelling variants for shrapnel, with forms such as "hsrapnel", "sharpnel", and "shhrapnel". 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. Our dataset records no confusable match here, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Shrapnel. Named after British army officer Henry Shrapnel (1761–1842) who invented an anti-personnel shell that transported a large number of bullets to the target before releasing them, at a far greater distance than rifles could fire the bullets indi… The correct English form is shrapnel, spelled S-H-R-A-P-N-E-L.
Definition
- 1An anti-personnel artillery shell used in World War I which carries a large number of individual bullets or balls close to the target and then ejects them to allow them to continue along the shell's trajectory and strike the target individually.
- 2The bullets or balls from the aforementioned type of artillery shell.
- 3Any shot, fragments, or debris thrown out by an exploding shell, bomb, or landmine.
- 4Debris.
- 5Loose change.
Etymology
From Shrapnel. Named after British army officer Henry Shrapnel (1761–1842) who invented an anti-personnel shell that transported a large number of bullets to the target before releasing them, at a far greater distance than rifles could fire the bullets individually. The surname is likely a metathesized form of Charbonnel, a diminutive of Old French charbon (“charcoal”) in reference to hair color, complexion, or the like.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: hsrapnel,sharpnel,shhrapnel,shranpel,shrapenl,shrapnell,shrapnle,shrapnnel,shrappnel,shrpanel,shrrapnel,srhapnel,sshrapnel
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of shrapnel - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.
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 "shrapnel"?
What does "shrapnel" mean?
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Using “shrapnel”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is S-H-R-A-P-N-E-L - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈʃɹæpnəl/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
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.