soft spot

/sɒft spɒt/

//sɒft spɒt// noun

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

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

The verdict

“soft spot” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
9
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A sentimental fondness or affection.

Corpus desk

Index EN-soft-spot · soft spot · English

soft spot · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "S" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

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.

Key facts for soft spot
PropertyValue
Headwordsoft spot
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/sɒft spɒt/
Letters9
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “soft spot” sits in English frequency

soft spot falls outside the top-100,000 ranked English words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

soft spot is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /sɒft spɒt/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for soft spot, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: Late 18th c. The correct English form is soft spot, spelled S-O-F-T- -S-P-O-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    A sentimental fondness or affection.
  2. 2
    A point of vulnerability in a defence.
  3. 3
    A fontanelle.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. I'm embarrassed to admit it hit the soft spot in my heart / When I found out you wrote the book I read
  2. But although I happen to have a soft spot for nut roast – an option often preferable to the meat that emerged from the school kitchen – it seems I'm in a cranky minority.

Etymology

Late 18th c.

This word in other languages

debilidad(Español)faible(Français)Faible(Deutsch)

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.

PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 3, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "soft spot"?
"soft spot" is spelled S-O-F-T- -S-P-O-T. The IPA pronunciation is /sɒft spɒt/.
What does "soft spot" mean?
As a noun, "soft spot" means: A sentimental fondness or affection.
How do you pronounce "soft spot"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "soft spot" is /sɒft spɒt/. 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 "soft spot"?
Late 18th c. 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.

What to do next

You've looked up "soft spot". Here's where to go from here.

  • Browse more English words in the "S" letter cohort. S–Z browse
  • PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list