sop up

verb

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

"sop-up" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

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

Unranked
below top-frequency English
6
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To absorb, to soak up.

Corpus desk

Index EN-sop-up · sop up · English

sop up · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 6 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 sop up
PropertyValue
Headwordsop up
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
Letters6
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “sop up” sits in English frequency

sop upfalls 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

sop up is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as averb. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "To absorb, to soak up.".

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for sop up, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

Our source data has no etymology on file for this entry, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct English form is sop up, spelled S-O-P- -U-P.

Definition

  1. 1
    To absorb, to soak up.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. The smell of my vomit was overpowering. I thought I might retch again. Quickly, I gathered up some paper towels and sopped up my mess.

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

How do you spell "sop up"?
"sop up" is spelled S-O-P- -U-P.
What does "sop up" mean?
As a verb, "sop up" means: To absorb, to soak up.
What language does "sop up" come from?
"sop up" 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.

What to do next

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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