sifter
/ˈsɪftɚ/
"sifter" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“sifter” is uncommon English (frequency #96,481 among 54,294 “S” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #96,481
- frequency rank, English
- 54,294
- “S” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A tool for sifting, especially one for powdered cooking ingredients.
Corpus desk
Index EN-sifter · sifter · English
sifter · rank #96,481 · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-RARE #96,481
- LEN-LONG 6 letters
- VOW-2 2 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-DENSE 54,294
- PHOTO-FINISH shrewdness
Nearest frequency peer: shrewdness (-2 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 “sifter”
Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)
- shrewdness
shrewdness
3,522 corpus weight
- sifter
sifter
3,520 corpus weight
- Sinterklaas
Sinterklaas
3,518 corpus weight
- Siwa
Siwa
3,517 corpus weight
- Skeen
Skeen
3,516 corpus weight
- skulduggery
skulduggery
3,515 corpus weight
What this shows Bars show where “sifter” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | sifter |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈsɪftɚ/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #96,481 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “sifter” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
sifter is uncommon English at frequency #96,481 among 54,294 “S” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈsɪftɚ/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.
We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for sifter, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.
Etymologically, the entry records: From sift + -er. The correct English form is sifter, spelled S-I-F-T-E-R.
Definition
- 1A tool for sifting, especially one for powdered cooking ingredients.
- 2One who sifts.
- 3Any lamellirostral bird, as a duck or goose, so called because it sifts or strains its food from the water and mud by means of the lamellae of the beak.
Etymology
From sift + -er.
This word in other languages
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
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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "sifter", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).
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.