skate

/skeɪt/

//skeɪt// noun

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

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

The verdict

“skate” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #10,611. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#10,611
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
7
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A runner or blade, usually of steel, with a frame shaped to fit the sole of a shoe, made to be fastened under the foot, and used for gliding on ice.

Corpus desk

Index EN-skate · skate · English

skate · rank #10,611 · 7 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #10,611
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 7 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH singular

Nearest frequency peer: singular (-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 “skate”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “skate” 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).

skate vs stat
60% similar
skate vs SWAT
0% similar
skate vs Skye
40% similar

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

Key facts for skate
PropertyValue
Headwordskate
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/skeɪt/
Letters5
Frequency rank#10,611
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “skate”

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).skatelands here:

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “singular” (#10,610), “Sofia” (#10,612), “serum” (#10,609). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “skate” is #10,611. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 7 spelling variants around skate (IPA /skeɪt/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #10,611 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 6 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for skate, with forms such as "ksate", "sakte", and "skaet". 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, "stat", "SWAT", "Skye", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: Back-formation from Dutch schaats, from Middle Dutch schāetse, from Old Northern French escache (“a stilt, trestle”) (compare French échasse and English scatch), from a Germanic language, perhaps Frankish *skakkjā (“stilt”, literally “thing that moves”), re… The correct English form is skate, spelled S-K-A-T-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A runner or blade, usually of steel, with a frame shaped to fit the sole of a shoe, made to be fastened under the foot, and used for gliding on ice.
  2. 2
    Ellipsis of ice skate.
  3. 3
    Ellipsis of roller skate.
  4. 4
    The act of skateboarding
  5. 5
    The act of roller skating or ice skating
  6. 6
    A makeshift handcar.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. There's time for a quick skate before dinner.
  2. The boys had a skate every morning when the lake was frozen.

Etymology

Back-formation from Dutch schaats, from Middle Dutch schāetse, from Old Northern French escache (“a stilt, trestle”) (compare French échasse and English scatch), from a Germanic language, perhaps Frankish *skakkjā (“stilt”, literally “thing that moves”), related to *skakan (“to shake, swing”).

This word in other languages

patín(Español)patin(Français)Schlittschuh(Deutsch)patim(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ksate
  • sakte
  • skaet
  • skatte
  • skkate
  • sktae
  • sskate

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

ksate2sakte2skaet2skatte1skkate1sktae2sskate1
Edit distance from "skate"

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 "skate"?
"skate" is spelled S-K-A-T-E. The IPA pronunciation is /skeɪt/.
What does "skate" mean?
As a noun, "skate" means: A runner or blade, usually of steel, with a frame shaped to fit the sole of a shoe, made to be fastened under the foot, and used for gliding on ice.
What words are commonly confused with "skate"?
"skate" is commonly confused with "stat", "SWAT", "Skye". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "skate"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "skate" is /skeɪt/. 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 "skate"?
Back-formation from Dutch schaats, from Middle Dutch schāetse, from Old Northern French escache (“a stilt, trestle”) (compare French échasse and English scatch), from a Germanic language, perhaps Frankish *skakkjā (“stilt”, literally “thing that m... 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 "skate", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

Sofia#10,612serum#10,609stray#10,614Scots#10,606

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (7 here; floor ≥5).

tempo7 variantsrainy7 variantsturbo7 variantsPayne7 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list