SP

noun

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

"sp" is a 2-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“SP” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #6,839 in English word frequency and used as a noun.

#6,839
frequency rank, English
2
letters
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Initialism of starting price.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

SP vs SS
50% similar
SP vs su
0% similar
SP vs SW
50% similar

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

Key facts for SP
PropertyValue
HeadwordSP
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters2
Frequency rank#6,839
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “SP” 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). SP 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 SP is 2 letters long, classified as a noun. Corpus data places it at rank #6,839 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 16 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Zero misspellings are on record for SP in our index, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "SS", "su", "SW", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

This entry's etymology isn't recorded, so spelling patterns must be inferred from the word's phoneme-to-grapheme mapping rather than from a documented borrowing chain. The correct English form is SP, spelled S-P.

Definition

  1. 1
    Initialism of starting price.
  2. 2
    Initialism of selling price.
  3. 3
    Initialism of shore patrol.
  4. 4
    Initialism of state police.
  5. 5
    Initialism of slow play.
  6. 6
    Initialism of service pack.
  7. 7
    Initialism of skill point, special point, spirit point, or spell point; synonym of or alternative to MP/magic points, especially for games that lack magic or fantasy elements.
  8. 8
    Abbreviation of superintendent.
  9. 9
    Initialism of suppressive person.
  10. 10
    Initialism of substance P.
  11. 11
    Initialism of soft point.
  12. 12
    Initialism of state park.
  13. 13
    Abbreviation of spur.
  14. 14
    Initialism of short program.
  15. 15
    Initialism of sex partner.
  16. 16
    Abbreviation of sub-publishing.

Synonyms

supt.

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 "SP"?
"SP" is spelled S-P.
What does "SP" mean?
As a noun, "SP" means: Initialism of starting price.
What words are commonly confused with "SP"?
"SP" is commonly confused with "SS", "su", "SW". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
What language does "SP" come from?
"SP" 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 “SP”

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

  • The one correct English spelling is S-P - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Don't mix it up with “SS” - see the side-by-side comparison. SP 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