sod

/sɒd/

//sɒd// noun

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

"sod" is a 3-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“sod” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #21,072) as a noun. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#21,072
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The stratum of the surface of the soil which is filled with the roots of grass, or any portion of that surface; turf; sward.

Corpus desk

Index EN-sod · sod · English

sod · rank #21,072 · 0 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #21,072
  • LEN-MID 3 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH snowflake

Nearest frequency peer: snowflake (-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.

Frequency neighbours of confusable “sod”

Peers at similar corpus weight, separate from look-alike pairs below

corpus weight

What this shows Bars place “sod” against nearest ranked English headwords, not a reprint of the confusable-pair desk.

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).

sod vs SS
0% similar
sod vs SP
0% similar
sod vs su
33% similar

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

Key facts for sod
PropertyValue
Headwordsod
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/sɒd/
Letters3
Frequency rank#21,072
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Corpus rank beside confusables of “sod”

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).sodlands 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 “snowflake” (#21,071), “spectra” (#21,073), “snare” (#21,069). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “sod” is #21,072. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for sod is neighbouring look-alikes ("SS", "SP", …), not just typos; it is anoun pronounced /sɒd/. Frequency #21,072 among 6,566 “S” headwords. 3 recorded senses keep meaning in play.

Zero misspellings are on record for sod in our index, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "SS", "SP", "su", 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 sod, sodde first attested in the mid-15th century, from Middle Dutch zoden (“turf”) or Middle Low German sôde, soede (“turf”), both related to Dutch zode (“turf”), German Sode (“turf”), Old Frisian sātha (“sod”), all being of uncertain u… The correct English form is sod, spelled S-O-D.

Definition

  1. 1
    The stratum of the surface of the soil which is filled with the roots of grass, or any portion of that surface; turf; sward.
  2. 2
    Turf grown and cut specifically for the establishment of lawns.
  3. 3
    A piece of this.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. She there shall dress a sweeter sod / Than Fancy's feet have ever trod.
  2. The landscapers rolled sod onto the bare earth and made a presentable lawn by nightfall.

Etymology

From Middle English sod, sodde first attested in the mid-15th century, from Middle Dutch zoden (“turf”) or Middle Low German sôde, soede (“turf”), both related to Dutch zode (“turf”), German Sode (“turf”), Old Frisian sātha (“sod”), all being of uncertain ultimate origin.

This word in other languages

gazon(Français)Grasnarbe(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 "sod"?
"sod" is spelled S-O-D. The IPA pronunciation is /sɒd/.
What does "sod" mean?
As a noun, "sod" means: The stratum of the surface of the soil which is filled with the roots of grass, or any portion of that surface; turf; sward.
What words are commonly confused with "sod"?
"sod" is commonly confused with "SS", "SP", "su". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "sod"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "sod" is /sɒd/. 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 "sod"?
From Middle English sod, sodde first attested in the mid-15th century, from Middle Dutch zoden (“turf”) or Middle Low German sôde, soede (“turf”), both related to Dutch zode (“turf”), German Sode (“turf”), Old Frisian sātha (“sod”), all being of u... 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 "sod", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 3 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

sem#21,060sag#21,052oft#21,016AOL#21,132

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list