sow

/saʊ/

//saʊ// noun

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

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

The verdict

“sow” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #17,722 in English word frequency and used as a noun.

#17,722
frequency rank, English
3
letters
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A female pig.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

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

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

Key facts for sow
PropertyValue
Headwordsow
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/saʊ/
Letters3
Frequency rank#17,722
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “sow” 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). sow 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 sow is 3 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /saʊ/. Corpus data places it at rank #17,722 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 8 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

No misspelling variants are generated for sow in our index, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "SS", "SP", "su", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English sowe, from Old English sugu, from Proto-West Germanic *sugu, from Proto-Germanic *sugō, probably from Proto-Indo-European *su(H)kéh₂, from *suH- (“pig”). See also West Frisian sûch, Dutch zeug, Low German Söög, German Sau, Swedish sugga,… The correct English form is sow, spelled S-O-W.

Definition

  1. 1
    A female pig.
  2. 2
    A female bear, she-bear.
  3. 3
    A female guinea pig.
  4. 4
    A channel that conducts molten metal to molds.
  5. 5
    A mass of metal solidified in a mold.
  6. 6
    A contemptible, often fat woman.
  7. 7
    A sowbug.
  8. 8
    A kind of covered shed, formerly used by besiegers in filling up and passing the ditch of a besieged place, sapping and mining the wall, etc.

Etymology

From Middle English sowe, from Old English sugu, from Proto-West Germanic *sugu, from Proto-Germanic *sugō, probably from Proto-Indo-European *su(H)kéh₂, from *suH- (“pig”). See also West Frisian sûch, Dutch zeug, Low German Söög, German Sau, Swedish sugga, Norwegian sugge; also Welsh hwch (“pig”), Sanskrit सूकर (sūkará, “swine, boar”); also Danish so, German Sau, Latin sūs, Tocharian B suwo, Ancient Greek ὗς (hûs), Albanian thi, Avestan 𐬵𐬏 (hū, “boar”). See also swine. Doublet of soor.

Synonyms

ingotbitchcow

This word in other languages

cerda(Español)truie(Français)Sau(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 "sow"?
"sow" is spelled S-O-W. The IPA pronunciation is /saʊ/.
What does "sow" mean?
As a noun, "sow" means: A female pig.
What words are commonly confused with "sow"?
"sow" 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 "sow"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "sow" is /saʊ/. 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 "sow"?
From Middle English sowe, from Old English sugu, from Proto-West Germanic *sugu, from Proto-Germanic *sugō, probably from Proto-Indo-European *su(H)kéh₂, from *suH- (“pig”). See also West Frisian sûch, Dutch zeug, Low German Söög, German Sau, Swed... 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.

Using “sow”

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

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