skin

/skɪn/

//skɪn// noun

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

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

The verdict

“skin” has 6 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #1,319. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#1,319
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
6
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The outer protective layer of the body of any animal, including of a human.

Corpus desk

Index EN-skin · skin · English

skin · rank #1,319 · 6 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #1,319
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 6 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH rich

Nearest frequency peer: rich (-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 “skin”

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

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “skin” 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).

skin vs son
50% similar
skin vs sun
50% similar
skin vs sky
50% similar

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

Key facts for skin
PropertyValue
Headwordskin
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/skɪn/
Letters4
Frequency rank#1,319
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “skin” 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). skin lands here:

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

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

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 6 spelling variants around skin (IPA /skɪn/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #1,319 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 18 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for skin, with forms such as "ksin", "sikn", and "skinn". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "son", "sun", "sky", 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 skyn, skinn, from Old English scinn, from Old Norse skinn (“animal hide”), from Proto-Germanic *skinþą, from Proto-Indo-European *sken- (“to split off”), nasal variant of *skeh₁i-d- (“to cut”). Partially displaced native Old English hȳd … The correct English form is skin, spelled S-K-I-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    The outer protective layer of the body of any animal, including of a human.
  2. 2
    The outer protective layer of the fruit of a plant.
  3. 3
    The skin and fur of an individual animal used by humans for clothing, upholstery, etc.
  4. 4
    A congealed layer on the surface of a liquid.
  5. 5
    A set of resources that modifies the appearance and/or layout of the graphical user interface of a computer program.
  6. 6
    An alternate appearance (texture map or geometry) for a character model in a video game.
  7. 7
    Rolling paper for cigarettes.
  8. 8
    Clipping of skinhead.
  9. 9
    A subgroup of Australian aboriginal people.
  10. 10
    Bare flesh, particularly bare breasts.
  11. 11
    A vessel made of skin, used for holding liquids.
  12. 12
    That part of a sail, when furled, which remains on the outside and covers the whole.
  13. 13
    The covering, as of planking or iron plates, outside the framing, forming the sides and bottom of a vessel; the shell; also, a lining inside the framing.
  14. 14
    The outer surface covering much of the wings and fuselage of an aircraft.
  15. 15
    A drink of whisky served hot.
  16. 16
    A person; chap.
  17. 17
    A purse.
  18. 18
    A member of the team not wearing shirts, in a shirts and skins game.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. He is so disgusting he makes my skin crawl.
  2. Her skin is pale like chicken skin, after you have peel[ed] all the feathers.

Etymology

From Middle English skyn, skinn, from Old English scinn, from Old Norse skinn (“animal hide”), from Proto-Germanic *skinþą, from Proto-Indo-European *sken- (“to split off”), nasal variant of *skeh₁i-d- (“to cut”). Partially displaced native Old English hȳd (“skin, hide”), from which derives hide. Cognate with Dutch schinde (“bark”), dialectal German Schinde (“fruit peel”); also Breton skant (“scales”), Old Irish cenn (“covering, shell”), Irish scáin (“to tear, burst”), Latin scindō (“to split, divide”), Sanskrit छिनत्ति (chinátti, “to split”).

This word in other languages

piel(Español)peau(Français)Haut(Deutsch)pele(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ksin
  • sikn
  • skinn
  • skkin
  • skni
  • sskin

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

ksin2sikn2skinn1skkin1skni2sskin1
Edit distance from "skin"

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.

PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 3, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "skin"?
"skin" is spelled S-K-I-N. The IPA pronunciation is /skɪn/.
What does "skin" mean?
As a noun, "skin" means: The outer protective layer of the body of any animal, including of a human.
What words are commonly confused with "skin"?
"skin" is commonly confused with "son", "sun", "sky". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "skin"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "skin" is /skɪn/. 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 "skin"?
From Middle English skyn, skinn, from Old English scinn, from Old Norse skinn (“animal hide”), from Proto-Germanic *skinþą, from Proto-Indo-European *sken- (“to split off”), nasal variant of *skeh₁i-d- (“to cut”). Partially displaced native Old En... 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 "skin", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

rich#1,318thus#1,323luck#1,312fish#1,339

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (6 here; floor ≥5).

glad6 variantscalls6 variantsgrow6 variantscars6 variants

What to do next

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

  • "skin" maps to 20 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "son". View pair
  • 6 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
  • Usage frequency rank #1,319 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