snipe

/snaɪp/

//snaɪp// noun

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

"snipe" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“snipe” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #27,648 in English word frequency and used as a noun.

#27,648
frequency rank, English
5
letters
7
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Any of various limicoline game birds of the genera Gallinago, Lymnocryptes and Coenocorypha in the family Scolopacidae, having a long, slender, nearly straight beak.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

snipe vs SNP
0% similar
snipe vs suite
60% similar
snipe vs spite
60% similar

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

Key facts for snipe
PropertyValue
Headwordsnipe
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/snaɪp/
Letters5
Frequency rank#27,648
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “snipe” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). snipe lands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for snipe is 5 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /snaɪp/. Corpus data places it at rank #27,648 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 5 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for snipe, with forms such as "nsipe", "sinpe", and "sniep". 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 20 confusable-pair relationships, "SNP", "suite", "spite", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English snipe, snype (a type of bird), from Old Norse snípa, as in mýrisnípa (“moor snipe”). Akin to Norwegian snipe. The verb originated in the 1770s among soldiers in British India where a hunter skilled enough to kill the elusive snipe was du… The correct English form is snipe, spelled S-N-I-P-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Any of various limicoline game birds of the genera Gallinago, Lymnocryptes and Coenocorypha in the family Scolopacidae, having a long, slender, nearly straight beak.
  2. 2
    A fool; a blockhead.
  3. 3
    A shot fired from a concealed place.
  4. 4
    A member of the engineering department on a ship.
  5. 5
    A goal.

Etymology

From Middle English snipe, snype (a type of bird), from Old Norse snípa, as in mýrisnípa (“moor snipe”). Akin to Norwegian snipe. The verb originated in the 1770s among soldiers in British India where a hunter skilled enough to kill the elusive snipe was dubbed a "sniper". The term sniper was first attested in 1824 in the sense of the word "sharpshooter".

This word in other languages

agachadiza(Español)bécassine(Français)Schnepfe(Deutsch)bobo(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: nsipe,sinpe,sniep,snippe,snnipe,snpie,ssnipe

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

nsipe2sinpe2sniep2snippe1snnipe1snpie2ssnipe1
Edit distance from "snipe"

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 "snipe"?
"snipe" is spelled S-N-I-P-E. The IPA pronunciation is /snaɪp/.
What does "snipe" mean?
As a noun, "snipe" means: Any of various limicoline game birds of the genera Gallinago, Lymnocryptes and Coenocorypha in the family Scolopacidae, having a long, slender, nearly straight beak.
What words are commonly confused with "snipe"?
"snipe" is commonly confused with "SNP", "suite", "spite". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "snipe"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "snipe" is /snaɪp/. 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 "snipe"?
From Middle English snipe, snype (a type of bird), from Old Norse snípa, as in mýrisnípa (“moor snipe”). Akin to Norwegian snipe. The verb originated in the 1770s among soldiers in British India where a hunter skilled enough to kill the elusive sn... 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.

Using “snipe”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is S-N-I-P-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /snaɪp/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “SNP” - see the side-by-side comparison. snipe vs SNP
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list