snowshoe

/ˈsnoʊʃu/

//ˈsnoʊʃu// noun

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

"snowshoe" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“snowshoe” is uncommon English (frequency #59,030 among 6,566 “S” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#59,030
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A flat item of footwear worn to facilitate walking in deep snow.

Corpus desk

Index EN-snowshoe · snowshoe · English

snowshoe · rank #59,030 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #59,030
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH Sobel

Nearest frequency peer: Sobel (+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.

Long-tail ranks near “snowshoe”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “snowshoe” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for snowshoe
PropertyValue
Headwordsnowshoe
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈsnoʊʃu/
Letters8
Frequency rank#59,030
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “snowshoe” in English

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

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “Sobel” (#59,031), “smth” (#59,027), “solly” (#59,033). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “snowshoe” is #59,030. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

snowshoe is uncommon English at frequency #59,030 among 6,566 “S” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈsnoʊʃu/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

No misspelling variants are generated for snowshoe in our index, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. Our dataset records no confusable match here, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: From snow + shoe. The correct English form is snowshoe, spelled S-N-O-W-S-H-O-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A flat item of footwear worn to facilitate walking in deep snow.
  2. 2
    Synonym of mukluk

Etymology

From snow + shoe.

Synonyms

web

This word in other languages

raqueta(Español)raquette à neige(Français)Schneeschuh(Deutsch)

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 "snowshoe"?
"snowshoe" is spelled S-N-O-W-S-H-O-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈsnoʊʃu/.
What does "snowshoe" mean?
As a noun, "snowshoe" means: A flat item of footwear worn to facilitate walking in deep snow.
How do you pronounce "snowshoe"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "snowshoe" is /ˈsnoʊʃu/. 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 "snowshoe"?
From snow + shoe. 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 "snowshoe", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

skillset#59,023spangler#59,038sperling#59,039spurrier#59,041

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list