sleight of hand
"sleight-of-hand" is a 13-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“sleight of hand” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 15
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The required manual dexterity used to perform magic tricks and illusions.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | sleight of hand |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| Letters | 15 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “sleight of hand” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
sleight of hand is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.
sleight of hand has no tracked misspelling variants, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English slegthe of hande, sleght of hond, equivalent to sleight + of + hand. Compare Old French léger de main (cf. the contemporary French léger de main and the contemporary English legerdemain). The correct English form is sleight of hand, spelled S-L-E-I-G-H-T- -O-F- -H-A-N-D.
Definition
- 1The required manual dexterity used to perform magic tricks and illusions.
- 2A performance of such a skill.
- 3Any form of clever or skillful trickery or deception.
Etymology
From Middle English slegthe of hande, sleght of hond, equivalent to sleight + of + hand. Compare Old French léger de main (cf. the contemporary French léger de main and the contemporary English legerdemain).
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “sleight of hand”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is S-L-E-I-G-H-T- -O-F- -H-A-N-D - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- 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.