skirt

/skɜːt/

//skɜːt// noun

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

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

The verdict

“skirt” has 8 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #7,609. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#7,609
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
8
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A separate article of clothing, usually worn by women and girls, that hangs from the waist and covers the lower torso and part of the legs.

Corpus desk

Index EN-skirt · skirt · English

skirt · rank #7,609 · 8 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #7,609
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 8 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH shoots

Nearest frequency peer: shoots (-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 “skirt”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “skirt” 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).

skirt vs sort
60% similar
skirt vs suit
60% similar
skirt vs stir
60% similar

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

Key facts for skirt
PropertyValue
Headwordskirt
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/skɜːt/
Letters5
Frequency rank#7,609
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “skirt”

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).skirtlands here:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “shoots” (#7,608), “socially” (#7,610), “spa” (#7,611). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “skirt” is #7,609. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 8 spelling variants around skirt (IPA /skɜːt/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #7,609 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 9 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for skirt, with forms such as "ksirt", "sikrt", and "skirrt". 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, "sort", "suit", "stir", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English skyrte, from Old Norse skyrta, from Proto-Germanic *skurtijǭ. Doublet of shirt. Cognate with Saterland Frisian Skoarte (“apron”), Dutch schort (“apron”), German Schürze (“apron”), Danish skørt (“skirt”), Swedish skört (“hem of a jacket”)… The correct English form is skirt, spelled S-K-I-R-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    A separate article of clothing, usually worn by women and girls, that hangs from the waist and covers the lower torso and part of the legs.
  2. 2
    A similar part of a dress or robe, etc., that hangs below the waist.
  3. 3
    A loose edging to any part of a dress.
  4. 4
    A petticoat.
  5. 5
    A woman.
  6. 6
    Women collectively, in a sexual context.
  7. 7
    Sexual intercourse with a woman.
  8. 8
    A border; edge; margin; extreme part of anything.
  9. 9
    A diaphragm, or midriff.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. "I like purple best," said Maida. "And old Schlegel has promised to make it for $8. It's going to be lovely. I'm going to have a plaited skirt and a blouse coat trimmed with a band of galloon under a white cloth collar with two rows of—"
  2. The petticoats and skirts ordinarily worn are decidedly the heaviest part of the dress ; hence it is necessary that some reform should be effected in these.

Etymology

From Middle English skyrte, from Old Norse skyrta, from Proto-Germanic *skurtijǭ. Doublet of shirt. Cognate with Saterland Frisian Skoarte (“apron”), Dutch schort (“apron”), German Schürze (“apron”), Danish skørt (“skirt”), Swedish skört (“hem of a jacket”), Norwegian skjørt (“skirt”).

This word in other languages

falda(Español)jupe(Français)Rock(Deutsch)saia(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ksirt
  • sikrt
  • skirrt
  • skirtt
  • skitr
  • skkirt
  • skrit
  • sskirt

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of skirt - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

ksirt2sikrt2skirrt1skirtt1skitr2skkirt1skrit2sskirt1
Edit distance from "skirt"

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 "skirt"?
"skirt" is spelled S-K-I-R-T. The IPA pronunciation is /skɜːt/.
What does "skirt" mean?
As a noun, "skirt" means: A separate article of clothing, usually worn by women and girls, that hangs from the waist and covers the lower torso and part of the legs.
What words are commonly confused with "skirt"?
"skirt" is commonly confused with "sort", "suit", "stir". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "skirt"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "skirt" is /skɜːt/. 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 "skirt"?
From Middle English skyrte, from Old Norse skyrta, from Proto-Germanic *skurtijǭ. Doublet of shirt. Cognate with Saterland Frisian Skoarte (“apron”), Dutch schort (“apron”), German Schürze (“apron”), Danish skørt (“skirt”), Swedish skört (“hem of ... 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 "skirt", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

spike#7,612polar#7,594toast#7,624waist#7,635

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (8 here; floor ≥5).

shoots8 variantsRebecca8 variantspirate8 variantsMumbai8 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list