sliver

/ˈslɪv.ə(ɹ)/

//ˈslɪv.ə(ɹ)// noun

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

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

The verdict

“sliver” has 8 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #29,466. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#29,466
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
8
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A long piece cut or rent off; a sharp, slender fragment.

Corpus desk

Index EN-sliver · sliver · English

sliver · rank #29,466 · 8 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #29,466
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 8 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH slush

Nearest frequency peer: slush (+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 “sliver”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “sliver” 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).

sliver vs spider
67% similar
sliver vs slower
67% similar
sliver vs sniper
67% similar

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

Key facts for sliver
PropertyValue
Headwordsliver
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈslɪv.ə(ɹ)/
Letters6
Frequency rank#29,466
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “sliver”

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).sliverlands 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 “slush” (#29,467), “sleigh” (#29,464), “smelt” (#29,468). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “sliver” is #29,466. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 8 spelling variants around sliver (IPA /ˈslɪv.ə(ɹ)/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #29,466 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 6 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for sliver, with forms such as "lsiver", "slievr", and "sliverr". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "spider", "slower", "sniper", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English slivere, sliver from Middle English sliven (“to cut, cleave, split”), from Old English slīfan (as in tōslīfan (“to split, split up”)). The correct English form is sliver, spelled S-L-I-V-E-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    A long piece cut or rent off; a sharp, slender fragment.
  2. 2
    A long piece cut or rent off; a sharp, slender fragment.
  3. 3
    A strand, or slender roll, of cotton or other fiber in a loose, untwisted state, produced by a carding machine and ready for the roving or slubbing which precedes spinning.
  4. 4
    Bait made of pieces of small fish.
  5. 5
    A narrow high-rise apartment building.
  6. 6
    A small amount of something; a drop in the bucket; a shred.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. This is the tasting ritual, the lay Eucharist of cheese. The buyer squeezes the sliver of cheese between his fingers to test its consistency, sniffs it, and then tastes it as delicately as if it were the most subtle caviar.
  2. A sliver of bone has punctured a lung, and a small surgical operation was needed to remove it (would he like to keep the bone as a memento?--it is in a phial by his bedside).

Etymology

From Middle English slivere, sliver from Middle English sliven (“to cut, cleave, split”), from Old English slīfan (as in tōslīfan (“to split, split up”)).

This word in other languages

astilla(Español)écharde(Français)Splitter(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • lsiver
  • slievr
  • sliverr
  • slivre
  • slivver
  • slliver
  • slvier
  • ssliver

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of sliver - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

lsiver2slievr2sliverr1slivre2slivver1slliver1slvier2ssliver1
Edit distance from "sliver"

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 "sliver"?
"sliver" is spelled S-L-I-V-E-R. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈslɪv.ə(ɹ)/.
What does "sliver" mean?
As a noun, "sliver" means: A long piece cut or rent off; a sharp, slender fragment.
What words are commonly confused with "sliver"?
"sliver" is commonly confused with "spider", "slower", "sniper". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "sliver"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "sliver" is /ˈslɪv.ə(ɹ)/. 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 "sliver"?
From Middle English slivere, sliver from Middle English sliven (“to cut, cleave, split”), from Old English slīfan (as in tōslīfan (“to split, split up”)). 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 "sliver", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

sleigh#29,464sordid#29,472sheesh#29,456sprawl#29,476

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (8 here; floor ≥5).

slush8 variantssmelt8 variantssenile8 variantssable8 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list