smidgen
/ˈsmɪd͡ʒɪn/
"smidgen" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“smidgen” is uncommon English (frequency #67,841 among 54,294 “S” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #67,841
- frequency rank, English
- 54,294
- “S” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Chiefly in the form a smidgen of: a very small amount or quantity; a bit, a trace.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | smidgen |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈsmɪd͡ʒɪn/ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Frequency rank | #67,841 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “smidgen” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
smidgen is uncommon English at frequency #67,841 among 54,294 “S” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈsmɪd͡ʒɪn/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
No misspelling variants are generated for smidgen in our index, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
Etymologically, the entry records: Origin uncertain; possibly from smitch (“(originally Scotland, chiefly US) very small amount or quantity”) + possibly -in (a variant of -ing (suffix forming nouns denoting things considered collectively)). Smitch is possibly: * derived from smitch (“smoke f… The correct English form is smidgen, spelled S-M-I-D-G-E-N.
Definition
- 1Chiefly in the form a smidgen of: a very small amount or quantity; a bit, a trace.
- 2Chiefly in the form a smidgen of a: a very small or insignificant person or thing; also, an instance of such a person or thing.
Etymology
Origin uncertain; possibly from smitch (“(originally Scotland, chiefly US) very small amount or quantity”) + possibly -in (a variant of -ing (suffix forming nouns denoting things considered collectively)). Smitch is possibly: * derived from smitch (“smoke from a burning or smouldering thing; spot of dirt; blemish; dirt, grime”), a variant of smeech (“(southwest England) (dense or pungent) smoke; airborne dust”), from Middle English smeche, smek, smiche (“smoke from a burning or smouldering thing; cloud of smoke; fumes, vapour; smell”), from Old English smēc, smīc (“smoke; steam; vapour”), from Proto-West Germanic *smauki (“smoke”), related to Proto-Germanic *smeukaną (“to fume, smoke”), from Proto-Indo-European *smewgʰ- (“smoke”); or * borrowed from Scots smitch (“smudge, stain; blemish; very small amount, speck, trace; small insignificant person”), possibly a variant of English smutch (“dirty mark, smudge, stain; dirt, grime; slight indication”) (probably related to smudge, ultimate etymology unknown) and influenced by English smit (“(UK, dialectal) a stain”).
This word in other languages
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
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Using “smidgen”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is S-M-I-D-G-E-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈsmɪd͡ʒɪn/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Other uncommon English words near this rank
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.