sleepyhead

/ˈslipiˌhɛd/

//ˈslipiˌhɛd// noun

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

"sleepyhead" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“sleepyhead” is uncommon English (frequency #99,874 among 6,566 “S” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#99,874
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A sleepy person.

Corpus desk

Index EN-sleepyhead · sleepyhead · English

sleepyhead · rank #99,874 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #99,874
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH snaffle

Nearest frequency peer: snaffle (+2 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 “sleepyhead”

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

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “sleepyhead” 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
Key facts for sleepyhead
PropertyValue
Headwordsleepyhead
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈslipiˌhɛd/
Letters10
Frequency rank#99,874
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “sleepyhead” sits in English frequency

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).sleepyheadlands here:

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “snaffle” (#99,876), “slating” (#99,871), “soke” (#99,880). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

sleepyhead is uncommon English at frequency #99,874 among 6,566 “S” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈslipiˌhɛd/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for sleepyhead, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

Etymologically, the entry records: From sleepy + head. The correct English form is sleepyhead, spelled S-L-E-E-P-Y-H-E-A-D.

Definition

  1. 1
    A sleepy person.
  2. 2
    The ruddy duck.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Hey now sleepyhead, it's time for you to go to bed.
  2. Goodbye, old sleepyhead / I'm packing you in like I said / Take care of everything / I'm leaving my wedding ring

Etymology

From sleepy + head.

This word in other languages

dormilón(Español)endormi(Français)Schlafmütze(Deutsch)

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 "sleepyhead"?
"sleepyhead" is spelled S-L-E-E-P-Y-H-E-A-D. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈslipiˌhɛd/.
What does "sleepyhead" mean?
As a noun, "sleepyhead" means: A sleepy person.
How do you pronounce "sleepyhead"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "sleepyhead" is /ˈslipiˌhɛd/. 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 "sleepyhead"?
From sleepy + head. 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 "sleepyhead", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 10 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Sommerfeld#99,884sepulchral#99,838septicemia#99,836Saurashtra#99,818

What to do next

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

  • Usage frequency rank #99,874 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