slash

/slaʃ/

//slaʃ// noun

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

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

The verdict

“slash” has 8 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #12,142. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#12,142
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 slashing action or motion:

Corpus desk

Index EN-slash · slash · English

slash · rank #12,142 · 8 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #12,142
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 8 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH simplest

Nearest frequency peer: simplest (-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 “slash”

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

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “slash” 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).

slash vs ssh
60% similar
slash vs slay
60% similar
slash vs spas
60% similar

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

Key facts for slash
PropertyValue
Headwordslash
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/slaʃ/
Letters5
Frequency rank#12,142
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “slash” 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).slashlands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “simplest” (#12,141), “spaghetti” (#12,143), “signaling” (#12,140). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 8 spelling variants around slash (IPA /slaʃ/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #12,142 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 14 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for slash, with forms such as "lsash", "salsh", and "slahs". 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, "ssh", "slay", "spas", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: Late Middle English, originally a verb of uncertain etymology. Perhaps of imitative origin, or possibly from Old French esclachier (“to break in pieces”), a variant of esclater, which is likely a Germanic borrowing, from Frankish *slaitan (“to slit, tear”).… The correct English form is slash, spelled S-L-A-S-H.

Definition

  1. 1
    A slashing action or motion:
  2. 2
    A slashing action or motion:
  3. 3
    A slashing action or motion:
  4. 4
    A mark made by slashing:
  5. 5
    A mark made by slashing:
  6. 6
    Something resembling such a mark:
  7. 7
    Something resembling such a mark:
  8. 8
    Something resembling such a mark:
  9. 9
    Something resembling such a mark:
  10. 10
    Something resembling such a mark:
  11. 11
    Something resembling such a mark:
  12. 12
    The loose woody debris remaining from a slash; the trimmings left while preparing felled trees for removal.
  13. 13
    A wet or swampy place overgrown with bushes
  14. 14
    Slash fiction; fan fiction focused on homoerotic pairing of fictional characters.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. A slash of his blade just missed my ear.
  2. He took a wild slash at the ball but the captain saved the team's skin by hacking it clear and setting up the team for a strike on the goal.

Etymology

Late Middle English, originally a verb of uncertain etymology. Perhaps of imitative origin, or possibly from Old French esclachier (“to break in pieces”), a variant of esclater, which is likely a Germanic borrowing, from Frankish *slaitan (“to slit, tear”). Used in the Wycliffe Bible as slascht (see 1 Kings 5:18) but otherwise unattested until 16th century. Conjunctive use from various applications of the punctuation mark ⟨/⟩. See also slash fiction.

Synonyms

gashslash marksolidusstrokeforward slashforward strokeforeslashfrontslashfront slashvirguleshilling markslantsslant linesseparatrixscratch commaobliqueoblique markoblique strokeoblique dashdiagonaldiagonal markvirgulavirgilwhackbarcunt

Antonyms

backslash

This word in other languages

barra(Español)entaille(Français)Hieb(Deutsch)talho(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • lsash
  • salsh
  • slahs
  • slashh
  • slassh
  • sllash
  • slsah
  • sslash

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

lsash2salsh2slahs2slashh1slassh1sllash1slsah2sslash1
Edit distance from "slash"

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 "slash"?
"slash" is spelled S-L-A-S-H. The IPA pronunciation is /slaʃ/.
What does "slash" mean?
As a noun, "slash" means: A slashing action or motion:
What words are commonly confused with "slash"?
"slash" is commonly confused with "ssh", "slay", "spas". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "slash"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "slash" is /slaʃ/. 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 "slash"?
Late Middle English, originally a verb of uncertain etymology. Perhaps of imitative origin, or possibly from Old French esclachier (“to break in pieces”), a variant of esclater, which is likely a Germanic borrowing, from Frankish *slaitan (“to sli... 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 "slash", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

Sasha#12,135stein#12,149Qaeda#12,126panda#12,118

Similar misspelling depth

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

satire8 variantstorque8 variantsPrague8 variantsMonaco8 variants

What to do next

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

  • "slash" maps to 20 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "ssh". View pair
  • 8 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
  • Usage frequency rank #12,142 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