siren

/ˈsaɪəɹən/

//ˈsaɪəɹən// noun

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

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

The verdict

“siren” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #15,909 in English word frequency and used as a noun.

#15,909
frequency rank, English
5
letters
7
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - One of a group of nymphs who lured mariners to their death on the rocks.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

siren vs sure
60% similar
siren vs site
60% similar
siren vs size
60% similar

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

Key facts for siren
PropertyValue
Headwordsiren
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈsaɪəɹən/
Letters5
Frequency rank#15,909
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “siren” sits in English frequency

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

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for siren is 5 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈsaɪəɹən/. Corpus data places it at rank #15,909 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 10 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for siren, with forms such as "isren", "siern", and "sirenn". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "sure", "site", "size", 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 siren, from Old French sereine and Latin Sīrēn, Sīrēna, from Ancient Greek Σειρήν (Seirḗn). The mammalian sense was first attested in French in Dominique Bouhours, Les entretiens d'Ariste et d'Eugène, in 1671. The aquatic salamander sens… The correct English form is siren, spelled S-I-R-E-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    One of a group of nymphs who lured mariners to their death on the rocks.
  2. 2
    One who sings sweetly and charms.
  3. 3
    A dangerously seductive woman.
  4. 4
    A member of Sirenia, an order of mammals.
  5. 5
    A member of a genus of aquatic salamanders of the family Sirenidae, commonly used for all species in the family Sirenidae.
  6. 6
    Any of various nymphalid butterflies of the genus Hestina.
  7. 7
    A device, either mechanical or electronic, that makes a piercingly loud sound as an alarm or signal, or the sound from such a device.
  8. 8
    A musical instrument, one of the few aerophones in the percussion section of the symphony orchestra (patented as Acme Siren in 1895).
  9. 9
    An instrument for demonstrating the laws of beats and combination tones.
  10. 10
    An astrophysical event that can be used for calculating cosmic distances.

Etymology

From Middle English siren, from Old French sereine and Latin Sīrēn, Sīrēna, from Ancient Greek Σειρήν (Seirḗn). The mammalian sense was first attested in French in Dominique Bouhours, Les entretiens d'Ariste et d'Eugène, in 1671. The aquatic salamander sense was originally introduced by Linnaeus in 1766, for a genus of his reptiles.

Synonyms

croonervampklaxon

This word in other languages

sirena(Español)sirène(Français)Sirene(Deutsch)sereia(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: isren,siern,sirenn,sirne,sirren,srien,ssiren

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of siren - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

isren2siern2sirenn1sirne2sirren1srien2ssiren1
Edit distance from "siren"

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 "siren"?
"siren" is spelled S-I-R-E-N. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈsaɪəɹən/.
What does "siren" mean?
As a noun, "siren" means: One of a group of nymphs who lured mariners to their death on the rocks.
What words are commonly confused with "siren"?
"siren" is commonly confused with "sure", "site", "size". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "siren"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "siren" is /ˈsaɪəɹən/. 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 "siren"?
From Middle English siren, from Old French sereine and Latin Sīrēn, Sīrēna, from Ancient Greek Σειρήν (Seirḗn). The mammalian sense was first attested in French in Dominique Bouhours, Les entretiens d'Ariste et d'Eugène, in 1671. The aquatic salam... 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 “siren”

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

  • The one correct English spelling is S-I-R-E-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /ˈsaɪəɹən/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “sure” - see the side-by-side comparison. siren vs sure
  • 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