skid
/skɪd/
"skid" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“skid” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #20,227 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #20,227
- frequency rank, English
- 4
- letters
- 6
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - An out-of-control sliding motion as would result from applying the brakes too hard in a car or other vehicle.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | skid |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /skɪd/ |
| Letters | 4 |
| Frequency rank | #20,227 |
| Misspellings tracked | 6 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “skid” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for skid is 4 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /skɪd/. Corpus data places it at rank #20,227 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 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for skid, with forms such as "ksid", "sikd", and "skdi". 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, "sky", "STD", "SPD", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English *skid, from Old Norse skíð (“a billet of wood, a beam or plank on which something rests”), from Proto-Germanic *skīdą (“log, clapboard”), from Proto-Indo-European *skey-t-, *skey- (“to split, divide, separate”). Cognate with English shid… The correct English form is skid, spelled S-K-I-D.
Definition
- 1An out-of-control sliding motion as would result from applying the brakes too hard in a car or other vehicle.
- 2A shoe or clog, as of iron, attached to a chain, and placed under the wheel of a wagon to prevent its turning when descending a steep hill.
- 3A hook attached to a chain, used for the same purpose.
- 4A piece of timber or other material used as a support, or to receive pressure.
- 5A piece of timber or other material used as a support, or to receive pressure.
- 6A piece of timber or other material used as a support, or to receive pressure.
- 7A piece of timber or other material used as a support, or to receive pressure.
- 8A piece of timber or other material used as a support, or to receive pressure.
- 9A banked sideslip where the aircraft's nose is yawed towards the low wing, often due to excessive rudder input.
- 10A losing streak.
Etymology
From Middle English *skid, from Old Norse skíð (“a billet of wood, a beam or plank on which something rests”), from Proto-Germanic *skīdą (“log, clapboard”), from Proto-Indo-European *skey-t-, *skey- (“to split, divide, separate”). Cognate with English shide, from Middle English schyd, schyde, schide (“plank, beam”), German Scheit (“piece of wood, log”). Doublet of ski.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: ksid,sikd,skdi,skidd,skkid,sskid
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of skid - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
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 "skid"?
What does "skid" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "skid"?
How do you pronounce "skid"?
What is the origin of the word "skid"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “skid”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is S-K-I-D - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /skɪd/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “sky” - see the side-by-side comparison. skid vs sky
- 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.