snore

/snɔː/

//snɔː// verb

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

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

The verdict

“snore” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #39,095. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#39,095
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
7
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To breathe during sleep with harsh, snorting noises caused by vibration of the soft palate.

Corpus desk

Index EN-snore · snore · English

snore · rank #39,095 · 7 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #39,095
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 7 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH skimpy

Nearest frequency peer: skimpy (-3 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 “snore”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “snore” 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).

snore vs soe
60% similar
snore vs Snr
40% similar
snore vs sor
60% similar

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

Key facts for snore
PropertyValue
Headwordsnore
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/snɔː/
Letters5
Frequency rank#39,095
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “snore”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).snorelands here:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “skimpy” (#39,092), “sorceress” (#39,098), “sinkhole” (#39,091). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “snore” is #39,095. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 7 spelling variants around snore (IPA /snɔː/), averb. Corpus frequency is #39,095 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Dominant gloss: "To breathe during sleep with harsh, snorting noises caused by vibration of the soft palate.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for snore, with forms such as "nsore", "snnore", and "snoer". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "soe", "Snr", "sor", 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 snoren, fnoren (“to snore loudly; snort”), from Middle English snore, *fnore (“snore; snort”, noun), from Old English fnora (“snort; sneezing”), from Proto-Germanic *fnuzô, from Proto-Indo-European *pnew- (“to breathe; snort; sneeze”). C… The correct English form is snore, spelled S-N-O-R-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    To breathe during sleep with harsh, snorting noises caused by vibration of the soft palate.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. While you here do ſnoaring lie, / Open-ey'd Conſpiracie / His time doth take: / If of Life you keepe a care, / Shake off ſlumber, and beware. / Awake, awake.
  2. The lumpiſh husband ſnoar'd avvay the night, / Till coughs avvak'd him near the morning light.

Etymology

From Middle English snoren, fnoren (“to snore loudly; snort”), from Middle English snore, *fnore (“snore; snort”, noun), from Old English fnora (“snort; sneezing”), from Proto-Germanic *fnuzô, from Proto-Indo-European *pnew- (“to breathe; snort; sneeze”). Compare also Proto-West Germanic *snarkōn, Middle Low German snorren (“to drone”), Dutch snorren (“to hum, purr”). The change fn → sn in this word is regular, seen also in sneeze, from Middle English fnesen (see sneeze for more).

Synonyms

saw wood

This word in other languages

roncar(Español)ronfler(Français)schnarchen(Deutsch)roncar(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • nsore
  • snnore
  • snoer
  • snorre
  • snroe
  • sonre
  • ssnore

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

nsore2snnore1snoer2snorre1snroe2sonre2ssnore1
Edit distance from "snore"

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 "snore"?
"snore" is spelled S-N-O-R-E. The IPA pronunciation is /snɔː/.
What does "snore" mean?
As a verb, "snore" means: To breathe during sleep with harsh, snorting noises caused by vibration of the soft palate.
What words are commonly confused with "snore"?
"snore" is commonly confused with "soe", "Snr", "sor". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "snore"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "snore" is /snɔː/. 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 "snore"?
From Middle English snoren, fnoren (“to snore loudly; snort”), from Middle English snore, *fnore (“snore; snort”, noun), from Old English fnora (“snort; sneezing”), from Proto-Germanic *fnuzô, from Proto-Indo-European *pnew- (“to breathe; snort; s... 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 "snore", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

stank#39,107Satya#39,075Raina#39,045Rahim#39,044

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (7 here; floor ≥5).

rimmed7 variantsqueued7 variantsposit7 variantsvidya7 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list