skinhead
/ˈskɪn.hɛd/
"skinhead" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“skinhead” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #42,903 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #42,903
- frequency rank, English
- 8
- letters
- 12
- tracked misspellings
- 3
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Someone with a shaved head.
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 | skinhead |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈskɪn.hɛd/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #42,903 |
| Misspellings tracked | 12 |
| Confusable pairs | 3 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “skinhead” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for skinhead is 8 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈskɪn.hɛd/. Corpus data places it at rank #42,903 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for skinhead, with forms such as "ksinhead", "siknhead", and "skihnead". 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 3 confusable-pair relationships, "skinned", "Sinead", "shithead", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *(s)kenH- Proto-Germanic *skinþąder. Middle English skyn English skin Proto-Indo-European *kap- Proto-Indo-European *káput- Proto-Germanic *haubudą Old English hēafod Middle English heed English head English skinhead From … The correct English form is skinhead, spelled S-K-I-N-H-E-A-D.
Definition
- 1Someone with a shaved head.
- 2A member of a subculture that arose among working-class youth in late 1960s England or its diaspora, defined by close-cropped or shaven heads and working-class clothing, and often associated with violence and white-supremacist or anti-immigrant principles.
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *(s)kenH- Proto-Germanic *skinþąder. Middle English skyn English skin Proto-Indo-European *kap- Proto-Indo-European *káput- Proto-Germanic *haubudą Old English hēafod Middle English heed English head English skinhead From skin + head.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: ksinhead,siknhead,skihnead,skinehad,skinhaed,skinheadd,skinheda,skinhhead,skinnhead,skkinhead,sknihead,sskinhead
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of skinhead - 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 "skinhead"?
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Using “skinhead”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is S-K-I-N-H-E-A-D - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈskɪn.hɛd/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “skinned” - see the side-by-side comparison. skinhead vs skinned
- 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.