singe

/sɪnd͡ʒ/

//sɪnd͡ʒ// verb

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

"singe" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“singe” is uncommon English (frequency #57,713 among 6,566 “S” headwords), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#57,713
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To burn slightly.

Corpus desk

Index EN-singe · singe · English

singe · rank #57,713 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #57,713
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH skateboarder

Nearest frequency peer: skateboarder (+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.

Long-tail ranks near “singe”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “singe” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for singe
PropertyValue
Headwordsinge
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/sɪnd͡ʒ/
Letters5
Frequency rank#57,713
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “singe” in English

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).singefalls in this rarity band:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Rare peers in the same band: “skateboarder” (#57,714), “Sigrid” (#57,711), “Sigourney” (#57,710). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “singe” is #57,713. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

singe is uncommon English at frequency #57,713 among 6,566 “S” headwords, classed as averb, transcribed /sɪnd͡ʒ/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for singe, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. Our dataset records no confusable match here, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English sengen, from Old English senġan, sænċġan (“to singe, burn slightly, scorch, afflict”), from Proto-West Germanic *sangijan (“to burn, torch”), from Proto-Indo-European *senk- (“to burn”). Cognate with West Frisian singe, sinzje (“to singe… The correct English form is singe, spelled S-I-N-G-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    To burn slightly.
  2. 2
    To remove the nap of (cloth), by passing it rapidly over a red-hot bar, or over a flame, preliminary to dyeing it.
  3. 3
    To remove the hair or down from (a plucked chicken, etc.) by passing it over a flame.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. made combustible by Flame They treat of, we have pretty Game, For they their own Tail Singe, to save Us

Etymology

From Middle English sengen, from Old English senġan, sænċġan (“to singe, burn slightly, scorch, afflict”), from Proto-West Germanic *sangijan (“to burn, torch”), from Proto-Indo-European *senk- (“to burn”). Cognate with West Frisian singe, sinzje (“to singe”), Saterland Frisian soange (“to singe”), Dutch zengen (“to singe, scorch”), German Low German sengen (“to singe”), German sengen (“to singe, scorch”), Icelandic sangur (“singed, burnt, scorched”).

Synonyms

scorch

This word in other languages

chamuscar(Español)roussir(Français)versengen(Deutsch)

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 "singe"?
"singe" is spelled S-I-N-G-E. The IPA pronunciation is /sɪnd͡ʒ/.
What does "singe" mean?
As a verb, "singe" means: To burn slightly.
How do you pronounce "singe"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "singe" is /sɪnd͡ʒ/. 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 "singe"?
From Middle English sengen, from Old English senġan, sænċġan (“to singe, burn slightly, scorch, afflict”), from Proto-West Germanic *sangijan (“to burn, torch”), from Proto-Indo-European *senk- (“to burn”). Cognate with West Frisian singe, sinzje ... 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 "singe", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

sated#57,696sprig#57,730tarry#57,758rager#57,659

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list