slit

/ˈslɪt/

//ˈslɪt// noun

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

"slit" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“slit” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #15,702) as a noun. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#15,702
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
4
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A narrow cut or opening; a slot.

Corpus desk

Index EN-slit · slit · English

slit · rank #15,702 · 4 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #15,702
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-LOW 4 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH sinks

Nearest frequency peer: sinks (-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 neighbours of confusable “slit”

Peers at similar corpus weight, separate from look-alike pairs below

corpus weight

What this shows Bars place “slit” against nearest ranked English headwords, not a reprint of the confusable-pair desk.

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).

slit vs sly
50% similar
slit vs STI
0% similar
slit vs Sui
25% similar

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

Key facts for slit
PropertyValue
Headwordslit
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈslɪt/
Letters4
Frequency rank#15,702
Misspellings tracked4
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Corpus rank beside confusables of “slit”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).slitlands 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 “sinks” (#15,701), “snapping” (#15,703), “shire” (#15,700). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “slit” is #15,702. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for slit is neighbouring look-alikes ("sly", "STI", …), not just typos; it is anoun pronounced /ˈslɪt/. Frequency #15,702 among 6,566 “S” headwords. 3 recorded senses keep meaning in play.

Our generated misspelling index lists 4 likely wrong-spelling variants for slit, with forms such as "slitt", "sllit", and "slti". 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 20 confusable-pair relationships, "sly", "STI", "Sui", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English slitten, from Old English slītan, from Proto-Germanic *slītaną (“to tear apart”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)leyd- (“to tear, rend (cut apart), split apart”). Possibly cognate with Latin laed- (“to strike, hurt, injure”). Doublet of sl… The correct English form is slit, spelled S-L-I-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    A narrow cut or opening; a slot.
  2. 2
    The vulva.
  3. 3
    A woman, usually a sexually loose woman; a prostitute.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. The face which emerged was not reassuring. It was blunt and grey, the nose springing thick and flat from high on the frontal bone of the forehead, whilst his eyes were narrow slits of dark in a tight bandage of tissue.[…].
  2. […]I twiſted my thighs, ſqueezed, and compreſs’d the lips of that virgin-ſlit[…]

Etymology

From Middle English slitten, from Old English slītan, from Proto-Germanic *slītaną (“to tear apart”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)leyd- (“to tear, rend (cut apart), split apart”). Possibly cognate with Latin laed- (“to strike, hurt, injure”). Doublet of slite; also related to slice through French borrowing. Apparently unrelated to English slot, whose etymology, however, is uncertain.

This word in other languages

ranura(Español)fente(Français)Nut(Deutsch)ranhura(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • slitt
  • sllit
  • slti
  • sslit

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

slitt1sllit1slti2sslit1
Edit distance from "slit"

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 "slit"?
"slit" is spelled S-L-I-T. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈslɪt/.
What does "slit" mean?
As a noun, "slit" means: A narrow cut or opening; a slot.
What words are commonly confused with "slit"?
"slit" is commonly confused with "sly", "STI", "Sui". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "slit"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "slit" is /ˈslɪt/. 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 "slit"?
From Middle English slitten, from Old English slītan, from Proto-Germanic *slītaną (“to tear apart”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)leyd- (“to tear, rend (cut apart), split apart”). Possibly cognate with Latin laed- (“to strike, hurt, injure”). Dou... 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 "slit", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

pear#15,676wand#15,735mata#15,654Leah#15,649

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list