sire

/saɪə(ɹ)/

//saɪə(ɹ)// noun

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

"sire" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“sire” has 5 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #16,586. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#16,586
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
5
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A lord, master, or other person in authority, most commonly used vocatively: formerly in speaking to elders and superiors, later only when addressing a sovereign.

Corpus desk

Index EN-sire · sire · English

sire · rank #16,586 · 5 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #16,586
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 5 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH slated

Nearest frequency peer: slated (+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 “sire”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “sire” 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).

sire vs six
50% similar
sire vs sit
50% similar
sire vs sue
50% similar

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

Key facts for sire
PropertyValue
Headwordsire
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/saɪə(ɹ)/
Letters4
Frequency rank#16,586
Misspellings tracked5
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “sire”

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).sirelands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “slated” (#16,587), “shack” (#16,584), “soaking” (#16,588). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “sire” is #16,586. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 5 spelling variants around sire (IPA /saɪə(ɹ)/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #16,586 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 5 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 5 likely wrong-spelling variants for sire, with forms such as "isre", "sier", and "sirre". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "six", "sit", "sue", 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 sire, from Old French sire, the nominative singular of seignor; from Latin senior, from senex. Doublet of seigneur, seignior, senhor, senior, señor, senyor, signore, and sir. Cognate with French monsieur. The correct English form is sire, spelled S-I-R-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A lord, master, or other person in authority, most commonly used vocatively: formerly in speaking to elders and superiors, later only when addressing a sovereign.
  2. 2
    A male animal that has fathered a particular offspring (especially used of domestic animals and/or in biological research).
  3. 3
    A father; the head of a family; the husband.
  4. 4
    A creator; a maker; an author; an originator.
  5. 5
    The vampire who turned another person.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. He but a Duke, would haue his Sonne a King, / And raiſe his iſſue like a louing Sire.
  2. Sometimes, also, he reproached himself, for abandoning those abodes where his father had dwelt. “Who knows,” said he to himself, “whether the shades of the departed are allowed to pursue, every where, the objects of their affection? Perhaps it is only permitted them to wander about the spot where their ashes repose! Perhaps in this moment does the spirit…

Etymology

From Middle English sire, from Old French sire, the nominative singular of seignor; from Latin senior, from senex. Doublet of seigneur, seignior, senhor, senior, señor, senyor, signore, and sir. Cognate with French monsieur.

This word in other languages

amo(Español)Herr(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • isre
  • sier
  • sirre
  • srie
  • ssire

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

isre2sier2sirre1srie2ssire1
Edit distance from "sire"

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 "sire"?
"sire" is spelled S-I-R-E. The IPA pronunciation is /saɪə(ɹ)/.
What does "sire" mean?
As a noun, "sire" means: A lord, master, or other person in authority, most commonly used vocatively: formerly in speaking to elders and superiors, later only when addressing a sovereign.
What words are commonly confused with "sire"?
"sire" is commonly confused with "six", "sit", "sue". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "sire"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "sire" is /saɪə(ɹ)/. 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 "sire"?
From Middle English sire, from Old French sire, the nominative singular of seignor; from Latin senior, from senex. Doublet of seigneur, seignior, senhor, senior, señor, senyor, signore, and sir. Cognate with French monsieur. 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 "sire", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Trey#16,604pimp#16,558paws#16,553Ames#16,633

Similar misspelling depth

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

Boone5 variantsGregg5 variantsdiva5 variantsfoes5 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list