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.

Long-tail ranks near “sleepyhead”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “sleepyhead” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

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)

Long-tail rank of “sleepyhead” in English

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).sleepyheadfalls in this rarity band:

#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. Rare peers in the same band: “snaffle” (#99,876), “slating” (#99,871), “soke” (#99,880). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “sleepyhead” is #99,874. 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

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list