snapdragon

/ˈsnæpdɹæɡən/

//ˈsnæpdɹæɡən// noun

"snapdragon" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“snapdragon” has 16 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #41,889. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#41,889
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
16
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Any plant of the genus Antirrhinum, with showy yellow, white or red flowers.

Corpus desk

Index EN-snapdragon · snapdragon · English

snapdragon · rank #41,889 · 16 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #41,889
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 16 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH slouch

Nearest frequency peer: slouch (-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 “snapdragon”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “snapdragon” 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
Key facts for snapdragon
PropertyValue
Headwordsnapdragon
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈsnæpdɹæɡən/
Letters10
Frequency rank#41,889
Misspellings tracked16
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “snapdragon”

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).snapdragonlands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “slouch” (#41,888), “sneer” (#41,890), “sola” (#41,891). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “snapdragon” is #41,889. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 16 spelling variants around snapdragon (IPA /ˈsnæpdɹæɡən/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #41,889 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 16 likely wrong-spelling variants for snapdragon, with forms such as "nsapdragon", "sanpdragon", and "snadpragon". 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. Our dataset records no confusable match here, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: (1570s) From snap + dragon, from a fancied resemblance, especially by playing children that the flower is a dragon that opens its "mouth" when squeezed on the sides. Compare for this sense the etymology of Dutch leeuwenbek (“snapdragon”, literally “lion's m… The correct English form is snapdragon, spelled S-N-A-P-D-R-A-G-O-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    Any plant of the genus Antirrhinum, with showy yellow, white or red flowers.
  2. 2
    A game in which raisins are snatched from a vessel containing burning brandy, and eaten; the substance snatched and eaten during the playing of the game; the vessel used for the game.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. […]of kitchen-gardens, and straight herb-borders, and warm snap-dragon beset by bees;
  2. Snapdragon leaves are asymmetrical with respect to dorsal-ventral surfaces (Fig. 6.6A).

Etymology

(1570s) From snap + dragon, from a fancied resemblance, especially by playing children that the flower is a dragon that opens its "mouth" when squeezed on the sides. Compare for this sense the etymology of Dutch leeuwenbek (“snapdragon”, literally “lion's mouth”) and German Löwenmaul. An ancient name was Old English hundeshéafod (literally “dog's head”). For the parlour game sense, the 1704 Swift quotation is apparently the earliest appearance in print. Other animal-based names for the flower are common; compare Greek σκυλάκι (skyláki, literally “puppy”) and Finnish leijonankita (literally “lion's mouth”).

Synonyms

dragon flowerflapdragon

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • nsapdragon
  • sanpdragon
  • snadpragon
  • snapdargon
  • snapddragon
  • snapdraggon
  • snapdragno
  • snapdragonn
  • snapdraogn
  • snapdrgaon
  • snapdrragon
  • snappdragon
  • snaprdagon
  • snnapdragon
  • snpadragon
  • ssnapdragon

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of snapdragon - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

nsapdragon2sanpdragon2snadpragon2snapdargon2snapddragon1snapdraggon1snapdragno2snapdragonn1
Edit distance from "snapdragon"

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 "snapdragon"?
"snapdragon" is spelled S-N-A-P-D-R-A-G-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈsnæpdɹæɡən/.
What does "snapdragon" mean?
As a noun, "snapdragon" means: Any plant of the genus Antirrhinum, with showy yellow, white or red flowers.
What are common misspellings of "snapdragon"?
Common misspellings include "nsapdragon", "sanpdragon", "snadpragon", "snapdargon", "snapddragon". The correct spelling is "snapdragon".
How do you pronounce "snapdragon"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "snapdragon" is /ˈsnæpdɹæɡən/. 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 "snapdragon"?
(1570s) From snap + dragon, from a fancied resemblance, especially by playing children that the flower is a dragon that opens its "mouth" when squeezed on the sides. Compare for this sense the etymology of Dutch leeuwenbek (“snapdragon”, literally... 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 "snapdragon", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 10 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (16 here; floor ≥5).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list