sold

/səʊld/

//səʊld// verb

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

The verdict

“sold” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #1,150 in English word frequency and used as a verb.

#1,150
frequency rank, English
4
letters
6
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - simple past and past participle of sell

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

sold vs son
50% similar
sold vs sox
50% similar
sold vs soy
50% similar

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

Key facts for sold
PropertyValue
Headwordsold
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/səʊld/
Letters4
Frequency rank#1,150
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “sold” sits in English frequency

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

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for sold is 4 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /səʊld/. Corpus data places it at rank #1,150 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "simple past and past participle of sell".

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for sold, with forms such as "osld", "slod", and "sodl". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "son", "sox", "soy", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

No documented word history exists for this headword, so its spelling is best explained by sound-to-letter mapping rather than etymology. The correct English form is sold, spelled S-O-L-D.

Definition

  1. 1
    simple past and past participle of sell

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: osld,slod,sodl,soldd,solld,ssold

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

osld2slod2sodl2soldd1solld1ssold1
Edit distance from "sold"

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 "sold"?
"sold" is spelled S-O-L-D. The IPA pronunciation is /səʊld/.
What does "sold" mean?
As a verb, "sold" means: simple past and past participle of sell
What words are commonly confused with "sold"?
"sold" is commonly confused with "son", "sox", "soy". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "sold"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "sold" is /səʊld/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "sold" come from?
"sold" is a English word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
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.

Using “sold”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is S-O-L-D - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /səʊld/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “son” - see the side-by-side comparison. sold vs son
  • 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list