sloe

/ˈsləʊ/

//ˈsləʊ// noun

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

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

The verdict

“sloe” is uncommon English (frequency #87,840 among 6,566 “S” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#87,840
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The small, astringent, wild fruit of the blackthorn (Prunus spinosa).

Corpus desk

Index EN-sloe · sloe · English

sloe · rank #87,840 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #87,840
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH sloppily

Nearest frequency peer: sloppily (+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.

Long-tail ranks near “sloe”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “sloe” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for sloe
PropertyValue
Headwordsloe
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈsləʊ/
Letters4
Frequency rank#87,840
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “sloe” in English

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).sloefalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “sloppily” (#87,841), “snowballing” (#87,844), “skene” (#87,835). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “sloe” is #87,840. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

sloe is uncommon English at frequency #87,840 among 6,566 “S” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈsləʊ/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

sloe has no tracked misspelling variants, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. Our dataset records no confusable match here, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: 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. The correct English form is sloe, spelled S-L-O-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    The small, astringent, wild fruit of the blackthorn (Prunus spinosa).
  2. 2
    The tree Prunus spinosa.
  3. 3
    Any of various other plants of the genus Prunus, as a shrub or small tree, Prunus alleghaniensis, bearing dark-purple fruit.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. There is also a dryness in the mouth from the increased action of the absorbent vessels, when a sloe or a crab-apple are masticated...
  2. 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!

Etymology

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.

This word in other languages

endrina(Español)prunelle(Français)Schlehe(Deutsch)abrunho(Português)

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 "sloe"?
"sloe" is spelled S-L-O-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈsləʊ/.
What does "sloe" mean?
As a noun, "sloe" means: The small, astringent, wild fruit of the blackthorn (Prunus spinosa).
How do you pronounce "sloe"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "sloe" is /ˈsləʊ/. 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 "sloe"?
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. 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 "sloe", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

str8#87,868seel#87,804Seda#87,802teem#87,898

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list