soap opera
/ˈsoʊp ˌɑ.pɚ.ə/
"soap-opera" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“soap opera” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 10
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A radio or television serial, typically broadcast in the afternoon or evening, about the lives of melodramatic characters, which are often filled with strong emotions, highly dramatic situations an...
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | soap opera |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈsoʊp ˌɑ.pɚ.ə/ |
| Letters | 10 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “soap opera” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
soap opera is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈsoʊp ˌɑ.pɚ.ə/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.
No misspelling variants are generated for soap opera in our index, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: From the soap and detergent commercials originally broadcast during the shows, which were aimed at the audience of women who were doing their cleaning; opera from the melodramatic character of the shows, as the earlier horse opera. The correct English form is soap opera, spelled S-O-A-P- -O-P-E-R-A.
Definition
- 1A radio or television serial, typically broadcast in the afternoon or evening, about the lives of melodramatic characters, which are often filled with strong emotions, highly dramatic situations and suspense.
- 2Such serials in general.
- 3Any story that is like a soap opera, as by being convoluted or melodramatic.
Etymology
From the soap and detergent commercials originally broadcast during the shows, which were aimed at the audience of women who were doing their cleaning; opera from the melodramatic character of the shows, as the earlier horse opera.
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “soap opera”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is S-O-A-P- -O-P-E-R-A - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈsoʊp ˌɑ.pɚ.ə/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- 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.