sip

/sɪp/

//sɪp// noun

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

"sip" is a 3-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“sip” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #11,794) as a noun. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#11,794
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A small mouthful of drink.

Corpus desk

Index EN-sip · sip · English

sip · rank #11,794 · 0 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #11,794
  • LEN-MID 3 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH scenic

Nearest frequency peer: scenic (-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.

Frequency neighbourhood for “sip”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “sip” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

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).

sip vs so
33% similar
sip vs SS
0% similar
sip vs SP
0% similar

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

Key facts for sip
PropertyValue
Headwordsip
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/sɪp/
Letters3
Frequency rank#11,794
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “sip” sits in English frequency

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).siplands 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 “scenic” (#11,793), “savior” (#11,792), “snail” (#11,796). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for sip is neighbouring look-alikes ("so", "SS", …), not just typos; it is anoun pronounced /sɪp/. Frequency #11,794 among 6,566 “S” headwords. 2 recorded senses keep meaning in play.

No misspelling variants are generated for sip in our index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "so", "SS", "SP", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: Inherited from Middle English sippen, of uncertain origin. Compare with Low German sippen (“to sip”). Possibly from a variant of Middle English suppen (“to drink, sip”) (see sup) or perhaps from Old English sipian, sypian (“to take in moisture, soak, macera… The correct English form is sip, spelled S-I-P.

Definition

  1. 1
    A small mouthful of drink.
  2. 2
    An event at which people drink alcohol in small, usually subintoxicating amounts.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. So order one more coffee / Have another sip of wine / We can go on talking / Until it's disco closing time
  2. Earl is always a good time. His appearance at parties, whether it's a smart cocktail sip or a basement gig, is mandatory.

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English sippen, of uncertain origin. Compare with Low German sippen (“to sip”). Possibly from a variant of Middle English suppen (“to drink, sip”) (see sup) or perhaps from Old English sipian, sypian (“to take in moisture, soak, macerate”), from Proto-Germanic *sipōną (“to drip, trickle”), from Proto-Indo-European *seyb- (“to pour out, trickle, leak out”). Compare also Old High German supfen (“to drink, sip”), from Proto-Germanic *sūpaną (“to sip, intake”).

This word in other languages

sorbo(Español)gorgée(Français)Schlückchen(Deutsch)gole(Português)

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 "sip"?
"sip" is spelled S-I-P. The IPA pronunciation is /sɪp/.
What does "sip" mean?
As a noun, "sip" means: A small mouthful of drink.
What words are commonly confused with "sip"?
"sip" is commonly confused with "so", "SS", "SP". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "sip"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "sip" is /sɪp/. 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 "sip"?
Inherited from Middle English sippen, of uncertain origin. Compare with Low German sippen (“to sip”). Possibly from a variant of Middle English suppen (“to drink, sip”) (see sup) or perhaps from Old English sipian, sypian (“to take in moisture, so... 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 "sip", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 3 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

sac#11,789BBQ#11,841lag#11,733heh#11,719

What to do next

You've looked up "sip". Here's where to go from here.

  • "sip" maps to 20 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "so". View pair
  • Usage frequency rank #11,794 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more English words in the "S" letter cohort. S–Z browse
  • PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

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