# shrew

> English word · Noun · IPA /ʃɹuː/ · frequency rank #39,560

## Definitions
1. Any of numerous small, mouselike, chiefly nocturnal, mammals of the family Soricidae.
2. Certain other small mammals that resemble true shrews.
3. An ill-tempered, nagging woman: a scold.

## Etymology
From Middle English *schrewe, from Old English sċrēawa (“shrew”), from Proto-Germanic *skrawwaz (“thin; meagre; frail”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- (“to cut; shorten; skimp”). Cognates include Old High German scrawaz (“dwarf”), Norwegian skrugg (“dwarf”).

## Easily confused with
- **sure** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shrew-vs-sure)
- **sore** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shrew-vs-sore)
- **Shri** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shrew-vs-shri)
- **stew** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shrew-vs-stew)
- **sire** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shrew-vs-sire)
- **slew** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shrew-vs-slew)
- **skew** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shrew-vs-skew)
- **spew** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shrew-vs-spew)
- **straw** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shrew-vs-straw)
- **spree** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shrew-vs-spree)
- **siren** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shrew-vs-siren)
- **shrug** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shrew-vs-shrug)
- **shrub** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shrew-vs-shrub)
- **strep** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shrew-vs-strep)
- **shrewd** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shrew-vs-shrewd)
- **strewn** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shrew-vs-strewn)
- **shriek** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shrew-vs-shriek)
- **she** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/she-vs-shrew)
- **sew** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sew-vs-shrew)
- **show** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/show-vs-shrew)

## Common misspellings (8)
`hsrew`, `sherw`, `shhrew`, `shreww`, `shrrew`, `shrwe`, `srhew`, `sshrew`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/shrew