sloe
/ˈsloʊ/noun
sloe is spelled S-L-O-E: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears about once in every 9 million words in written English, the 87,317th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, sloe means “The small, astringent, wild fruit of the blackthorn (Prunus spinosa)” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of sloe is sloes.
How many letters and syllables are in sloe?
| Letters | 4: S-L-O-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 9 million words; the 87,317th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Sounds like | |
| Rhymes with | |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is sloe?
Sloe appears about once in every 9 million words in written English, the 87,317th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce sloe?
- UK /ˈsləʊ/
- US /ˈsloʊ/
Sloe has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-sloe.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with sloe
Sounds like: slow (Wiktionary's homophone list; some hold only in some accents).
Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with sloe?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as sloe from its last stressed vowel (/oʊ/):
Spelled with the same letters in another order: lose, sole, selo.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of sloe
- sloes plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does sloe mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The small, astringent, wild fruit of the blackthorn (Prunus spinosa).
The dew-drops fell like water, leaf after leaf dropped from the trees, the sloe-thorn alone still bore fruit, but the sloes were sour, and set the teeth on edge. Oh, how dark and weary the whole world appeared!
- 2
The tree Prunus spinosa.
- 3
Any of various other plants of the genus Prunus, as a shrub or small tree, Prunus alleghaniensis, bearing dark-purple fruit.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Sloe in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | prunelle |
| German | Schlehe |
| Portuguese | abrunho , abrunheiro |
| Spanish | endrina, arañón , endrino |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does sloe come from?
From Middle English slo, sla, sloo, from Old English slā, slāh, from Proto-West Germanic *slaihā, from Proto-Germanic *slaihǭ, *slaihwō, from Proto-Indo-European *(s)leh₃y- (“bluish”). Doublet of Sliwa.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).