# sloth

> English word · Noun · IPA /sləʊθ/ · frequency rank #25,579

## Definitions
1. Laziness; slowness in the mindset; disinclination to action or labour.
2. Any animal in the suborder Folivora.
3. Any animal in the suborder Folivora.
4. A group of bears.

## Etymology
From Middle English slouthe, slewthe (“laziness”), from Old English slǣwþ (“sloth, indolence, laziness, inertness, torpor”), from Proto-West Germanic *slaiwiþu, from Proto-Germanic *slaiwiþō (“slowness, lateness”), equivalent to slow + -th (abstract nominal suffix). Cognate with Scots sleuth (“sloth, slowness”).

## Easily confused with
- **sth** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sloth-vs-sth)
- **sot** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sloth-vs-sot)
- **spot** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sloth-vs-spot)
- **slow** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sloth-vs-slow)
- **slut** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sloth-vs-slut)
- **soot** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sloth-vs-soot)
- **Soto** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sloth-vs-soto)
- **snot** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sloth-vs-snot)
- **swot** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sloth-vs-swot)
- **south** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sloth-vs-south)
- **smith** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sloth-vs-smith)
- **spots** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sloth-vs-spots)
- **slows** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sloth-vs-slows)
- **synth** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sloth-vs-synth)
- **sluts** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sloth-vs-sluts)
- **Smyth** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sloth-vs-smyth)
- **slush** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sloth-vs-slush)
- **swath** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sloth-vs-swath)
- **smooth** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sloth-vs-smooth)
- **soothe** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sloth-vs-soothe)

## Common misspellings (8)
`lsoth`, `slloth`, `sloht`, `slothh`, `slotth`, `sltoh`, `solth`, `ssloth`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/sloth