smut

/smʌt/

//smʌt// noun

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

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

The verdict

“smut” has 5 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #34,290. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#34,290
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
5
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Soot.

Corpus desk

Index EN-smut · smut · English

smut · rank #34,290 · 5 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #34,290
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 5 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH Smithfield

Nearest frequency peer: Smithfield (-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 “smut”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “smut” 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).

smut vs su
50% similar
smut vs sun
50% similar
smut vs sub
50% similar

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

Key facts for smut
PropertyValue
Headwordsmut
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/smʌt/
Letters4
Frequency rank#34,290
Misspellings tracked5
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “smut”

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).smutlands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “Smithfield” (#34,289), “slog” (#34,288), “sop” (#34,293). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “smut” is #34,290. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 5 spelling variants around smut (IPA /smʌt/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #34,290 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 7 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 5 likely wrong-spelling variants for smut, with forms such as "smmut", "smtu", and "smutt". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "su", "sun", "sub", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English smutten (“to defile, debase”), related to German Schmutz (“filth, dirt, smut”) and schmutzen (“to make dirty, stain”). Doublet of schmutz. Compare also Old English smitta (“smear; blot; mark; stain; pollution”), Old English besmītan (“to… The correct English form is smut, spelled S-M-U-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    Soot.
  2. 2
    A flake of ash or soot.
  3. 3
    Sexually vulgar material; something that is sexual in a dirty way; pornographic material.
  4. 4
    Obscene language; ribaldry; obscenity.
  5. 5
    Any of a range of fungi, mostly Ustilaginomycetes, that cause plant disease in grasses, including cereal crops; the disease so caused.
  6. 6
    Bad, soft coal containing earthy matter, found in the immediate locality of faults.
  7. 7
    A copper boiler.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. She reached it soon after half-past two. She found its gloomy nineteenth-century façade, black with the smuts of ninety years, a little daunting, and mounted its broad steps in some trepidation. But she rang the bell hard and knocked firmly.
  2. “You can rely on me!” Varya said, still more earnestly and enthusiastically, still leaning heavily on the counter, noticing briefly and forgetting at once that her bare elbow had crushed a stray smut from the Primus mender's booth.

Etymology

From Middle English smutten (“to defile, debase”), related to German Schmutz (“filth, dirt, smut”) and schmutzen (“to make dirty, stain”). Doublet of schmutz. Compare also Old English smitta (“smear; blot; mark; stain; pollution”), Old English besmītan (“to besmut; defile; dirty; pollute; contaminate”).

This word in other languages

tizón(Español)cul(Français)Brand(Deutsch)carvão(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • smmut
  • smtu
  • smutt
  • ssmut
  • sumt

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of smut - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

smmut1smtu2smutt1ssmut1sumt2
Edit distance from "smut"

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 "smut"?
"smut" is spelled S-M-U-T. The IPA pronunciation is /smʌt/.
What does "smut" mean?
As a noun, "smut" means: Soot.
What words are commonly confused with "smut"?
"smut" is commonly confused with "su", "sun", "sub". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "smut"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "smut" is /smʌt/. 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 "smut"?
From Middle English smutten (“to defile, debase”), related to German Schmutz (“filth, dirt, smut”) and schmutzen (“to make dirty, stain”). Doublet of schmutz. Compare also Old English smitta (“smear; blot; mark; stain; pollution”), Old English bes... 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 "smut", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

slog#34,288Sina#34,286regs#34,256prim#34,235

Similar misspelling depth

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

ales5 variantsMagee5 variantslute5 variantsleek5 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list