singer-songwriter

noun

"singer-songwriter" is a 16-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“singer-songwriter” is outside the top-ranked English vocabulary, used as a noun - the kind of word writers most often double-check.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
17
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A musician who both sings and composes, especially when recording or performing their own compositions.

Key facts for singer-songwriter
PropertyValue
Headwordsinger-songwriter
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters17
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “singer-songwriter” sits in English frequency

singer-songwriter falls outside the top-100,000 ranked English words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for singer-songwriter is 17 letters long, classified as a noun. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "A musician who both sings and composes, especially when recording or performing their own compositions.".

singer-songwriter has no tracked misspelling variants, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

Etymologically, the entry records: From dvandva compound of singer + songwriter. The correct English form is singer-songwriter, spelled S-I-N-G-E-R---S-O-N-G-W-R-I-T-E-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    A musician who both sings and composes, especially when recording or performing their own compositions.

Etymology

From dvandva compound of singer + songwriter.

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). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "singer-songwriter"?
"singer-songwriter" is spelled S-I-N-G-E-R---S-O-N-G-W-R-I-T-E-R.
What does "singer-songwriter" mean?
As a noun, "singer-songwriter" means: A musician who both sings and composes, especially when recording or performing their own compositions.
What is the origin of the word "singer-songwriter"?
From dvandva compound of singer + songwriter. 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.

Using “singer-songwriter”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is S-I-N-G-E-R---S-O-N-G-W-R-I-T-E-R - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list