snub

/snʌb/

//snʌb// adj

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

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

The verdict

“snub” has 6 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #33,022. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#33,022
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
6
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

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

Corpus desk

Index EN-snub · snub · English

snub · rank #33,022 · 6 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #33,022
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 6 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH slimmer

Nearest frequency peer: slimmer (-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 “snub”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “snub” 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).

snub vs su
50% similar
snub vs sun
50% similar
snub vs sub
75% similar

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

Key facts for snub
PropertyValue
Headwordsnub
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/snʌb/
Letters4
Frequency rank#33,022
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “snub”

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).snublands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “slimmer” (#33,021), “sobering” (#33,023), “shyness” (#33,020). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “snub” is #33,022. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 6 spelling variants around snub (IPA /snʌb/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #33,022 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for snub, with forms such as "nsub", "snbu", and "snnub". 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, "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 snubben (also snibben), from Old Norse snubba (“to curse, chide, snub, scold, reprove”), which, like the source of English snip, is probably imitative in some manner. Cognate with Danish snibbe, dialectal Swedish snebba. The correct English form is snub, spelled S-N-U-B.

Definition

  1. 1
    Conspicuously short.
  2. 2
    Flat and broad, with the end slightly turned up.
  3. 3
    Derived from a simpler polyhedron by the addition of extra triangular faces.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. a snub-nosed revolver
  2. It was even less easy to fix the impression in the case of the man at the right end of the table, who, to say truth, was as commonplace a person as could be seen anywhere, with a round, brown-haired head and a round snub nose, but also clad in clerical black, of a stricter cut.

Etymology

From Middle English snubben (also snibben), from Old Norse snubba (“to curse, chide, snub, scold, reprove”), which, like the source of English snip, is probably imitative in some manner. Cognate with Danish snibbe, dialectal Swedish snebba.

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • nsub
  • snbu
  • snnub
  • snubb
  • ssnub
  • sunb

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

nsub2snbu2snnub1snubb1ssnub1sunb2
Edit distance from "snub"

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 "snub"?
"snub" is spelled S-N-U-B. The IPA pronunciation is /snʌb/.
What does "snub" mean?
As an adjective, "snub" means: Conspicuously short.
What words are commonly confused with "snub"?
"snub" 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 "snub"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "snub" is /snʌb/. 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 "snub"?
From Middle English snubben (also snibben), from Old Norse snubba (“to curse, chide, snub, scold, reprove”), which, like the source of English snip, is probably imitative in some manner. Cognate with Danish snibbe, dialectal Swedish snebba. 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 "snub", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

spew#33,028thud#33,056trad#33,063wail#33,078

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (6 here; floor ≥5).

suave6 variantstibia6 variantspooja6 variantswhiz6 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list