sluice

/sluːs/

//sluːs// noun

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

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

The verdict

“sluice” has 8 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #45,666. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#45,666
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
8
tracked misspellings
12
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - An artificial passage for water, fitted with a valve or gate, for example in a canal lock or a mill stream, for stopping or regulating the flow.

Corpus desk

Index EN-sluice · sluice · English

sluice · rank #45,666 · 8 variants · 12 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #45,666
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 12 pairs
  • VAR-MID 8 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH Slocum

Nearest frequency peer: Slocum (-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 “sluice”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “sluice” 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).

sluice vs suite
67% similar
sluice vs spice
67% similar
sluice vs source
67% similar

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

Key facts for sluice
PropertyValue
Headwordsluice
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/sluːs/
Letters6
Frequency rank#45,666
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs12
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “sluice”

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).sluicelands 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 “Slocum” (#45,665), “smokeless” (#45,667), “sleuth” (#45,664). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “sluice” is #45,666. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 8 spelling variants around sluice (IPA /sluːs/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #45,666 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 sluice, with forms such as "lsuice", "sliuce", and "slluice". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 12 confusable-pair relationships, "suite", "spice", "source", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English sluse, alteration of scluse, from Anglo-Norman escluse (“sluice, floodgate”), from Late Latin exclusa (“extrusion, gate”), from Latin exclūsus, form of exclūdō (“I shut out, I exclude”) (English exclude). Cognate to Dutch sluis. The correct English form is sluice, spelled S-L-U-I-C-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    An artificial passage for water, fitted with a valve or gate, for example in a canal lock or a mill stream, for stopping or regulating the flow.
  2. 2
    A water gate or floodgate.
  3. 3
    Hence, an opening or channel through which anything flows; a source of supply.
  4. 4
    The stream flowing through a floodgate.
  5. 5
    A long box or trough through which water flows, used for washing auriferous earth.
  6. 6
    An instance of wh-stranding ellipsis, or sluicing.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. At leaſt, I'm ſure I can fiſh it out of her. She's the very Sluce to her Lady's Secrets;—'Tis but ſetting her Mill agoing, and I can drein her of 'em all.
  2. Each sluice of affluent fortune open'd soon.

Etymology

From Middle English sluse, alteration of scluse, from Anglo-Norman escluse (“sluice, floodgate”), from Late Latin exclusa (“extrusion, gate”), from Latin exclūsus, form of exclūdō (“I shut out, I exclude”) (English exclude). Cognate to Dutch sluis.

This word in other languages

esclusa(Español)écluse(Français)Schleuse(Deutsch)eclusa(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • lsuice
  • sliuce
  • slluice
  • slucie
  • sluicce
  • sluiec
  • ssluice
  • sulice

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of sluice - 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.

lsuice2sliuce2slluice1slucie2sluicce1sluiec2ssluice1sulice2
Edit distance from "sluice"

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 "sluice"?
"sluice" is spelled S-L-U-I-C-E. The IPA pronunciation is /sluːs/.
What does "sluice" mean?
As a noun, "sluice" means: An artificial passage for water, fitted with a valve or gate, for example in a canal lock or a mill stream, for stopping or regulating the flow.
What words are commonly confused with "sluice"?
"sluice" is commonly confused with "suite", "spice", "source". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "sluice"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "sluice" is /sluːs/. 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 "sluice"?
From Middle English sluse, alteration of scluse, from Anglo-Norman escluse (“sluice, floodgate”), from Late Latin exclusa (“extrusion, gate”), from Latin exclūsus, form of exclūdō (“I shut out, I exclude”) (English exclude). Cognate to Dutch sluis. 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 "sluice", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

Slocum#45,665sleuth#45,664Skynet#45,662Skopje#45,661

Similar misspelling depth

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

Sturm8 variantsTagore8 variantsTrask8 variantsTsang8 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list