sleuth

/sluːθ/

//sluːθ// noun

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

"sleuth" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“sleuth” has 9 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #45,664. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#45,664
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
9
tracked misspellings
12
confusable pairs

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

Corpus desk

Index EN-sleuth · sleuth · English

sleuth · rank #45,664 · 9 variants · 12 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #45,664
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 12 pairs
  • VAR-MID 9 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH Slattery

Nearest frequency peer: Slattery (-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 “sleuth”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “sleuth” 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).

sleuth vs slut
67% similar
sleuth vs south
67% similar
sleuth vs sluts
67% similar

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

Key facts for sleuth
PropertyValue
Headwordsleuth
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/sluːθ/
Letters6
Frequency rank#45,664
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs12
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “sleuth”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).sleuthlands 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 “Slattery” (#45,663), “Slocum” (#45,665), “Skynet” (#45,662). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “sleuth” is #45,664. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 9 spelling variants around sleuth (IPA /sluːθ/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #45,664 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for sleuth, with forms such as "lseuth", "seluth", and "sletuh". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 12 confusable-pair relationships, "slut", "south", "sluts", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: Clipping of sleuthhound. The correct English form is sleuth, spelled S-L-E-U-T-H.

Definition

  1. 1
    A detective.
  2. 2
    A sleuthhound; a bloodhound.
  3. 3
    An animal’s trail or track.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. 1908, Edith Van Dyne (Frank L. Baum), Aunt Jane’s Nieces at Millville Do ye want me to become a sleuth, or engage detectives to track the objects of your erroneous philanthropy?
  2. “This is a great piece of sleuth work for sure, and it significantly advances efforts to understand the origin of SARS-CoV-2,” said Michael Worobey, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Arizona who was not involved in the study.

Etymology

Clipping of sleuthhound.

This word in other languages

detective(Español)détective(Français)Schnüffler(Deutsch)detetive(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • lseuth
  • seluth
  • sletuh
  • sleuht
  • sleuthh
  • sleutth
  • slleuth
  • slueth
  • ssleuth

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of sleuth - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

lseuth2seluth2sletuh2sleuht2sleuthh1sleutth1slleuth1slueth2
Edit distance from "sleuth"

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 "sleuth"?
"sleuth" is spelled S-L-E-U-T-H. The IPA pronunciation is /sluːθ/.
What does "sleuth" mean?
As a noun, "sleuth" means: A detective.
What words are commonly confused with "sleuth"?
"sleuth" is commonly confused with "slut", "south", "sluts". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "sleuth"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "sleuth" is /sluːθ/. 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 "sleuth"?
Clipping of sleuthhound. 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 "sleuth", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Slocum#45,665Skynet#45,662sluice#45,666Skopje#45,661

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (9 here; floor ≥5).

Silesia9 variantsshiner9 variantstantra9 variantstarsus9 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list