shrine

/ʃɹaɪ̯n/

//ʃɹaɪ̯n// noun

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

"shrine" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“shrine” has 9 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #10,768. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#10,768
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
9
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A holy or sacred place dedicated to a specific deity, ancestor, hero, martyr, saint, or similar figure of awe and respect, at which said figure is venerated or worshipped.

Corpus desk

Index EN-shrine · shrine · English

shrine · rank #10,768 · 9 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #10,768
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 9 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH Shirley

Nearest frequency peer: Shirley (-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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “shrine”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “shrine” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

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).

shrine vs sine
67% similar
shrine vs spine
67% similar
shrine vs swine
67% similar

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

Key facts for shrine
PropertyValue
Headwordshrine
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ʃɹaɪ̯n/
Letters6
Frequency rank#10,768
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “shrine”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).shrinelands here:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “Shirley” (#10,767), “shrink” (#10,769), “Sherlock” (#10,766). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “shrine” is #10,768. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 9 spelling variants around shrine (IPA /ʃɹaɪ̯n/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #10,768 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for shrine, with forms such as "hsrine", "shhrine", and "shirne". 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, "sine", "spine", "swine", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English shryne, from Old English scrīn (“reliquary, ark of the covenant”), from Medieval Latin scrīnium (“reliquary”), “case or chest for books or papers” in Classical Latin. Ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- (“to turn, bend”). Compar… The correct English form is shrine, spelled S-H-R-I-N-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A holy or sacred place dedicated to a specific deity, ancestor, hero, martyr, saint, or similar figure of awe and respect, at which said figure is venerated or worshipped.
  2. 2
    A case, box, or receptacle, especially one in which are deposited sacred relics, as the bones of a saint.
  3. 3
    A place or object hallowed from its history or associations.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Entering the tunnel, we pass a small shrine above our heads which contains a statue of St Barbara, the patron saint of tunnellers. It is traditional to have such shrines on every tunnel site.
  2. a shrine of art

Etymology

From Middle English shryne, from Old English scrīn (“reliquary, ark of the covenant”), from Medieval Latin scrīnium (“reliquary”), “case or chest for books or papers” in Classical Latin. Ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- (“to turn, bend”). Compare Old Norse skrín, Old High German skrīni (German Schrein).

This word in other languages

santuario(Español)sanctuaire(Français)Heiligtum(Deutsch)santuário(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • hsrine
  • shhrine
  • shirne
  • shrien
  • shrinne
  • shrnie
  • shrrine
  • srhine
  • sshrine

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

hsrine2shhrine1shirne2shrien2shrinne1shrnie2shrrine1srhine2
Edit distance from "shrine"

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 "shrine"?
"shrine" is spelled S-H-R-I-N-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ʃɹaɪ̯n/.
What does "shrine" mean?
As a noun, "shrine" means: A holy or sacred place dedicated to a specific deity, ancestor, hero, martyr, saint, or similar figure of awe and respect, at which said figure is venerated or worshipped.
What words are commonly confused with "shrine"?
"shrine" is commonly confused with "sine", "spine", "swine". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "shrine"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "shrine" is /ʃɹaɪ̯n/. 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 "shrine"?
From Middle English shryne, from Old English scrīn (“reliquary, ark of the covenant”), from Medieval Latin scrīnium (“reliquary”), “case or chest for books or papers” in Classical Latin. Ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- (“to turn, bend... 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 "shrine", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

shrink#10,769sniper#10,770sorrow#10,772saddle#10,763

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (9 here; floor ≥5).

sacked9 variantsrevolt9 variantsThames9 variantsthrive9 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list