space

Name: space, English Word Data
Creator: Wiktionary
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

/speɪs/

//speɪs// noun

By PlainSpell · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) · analyzed September 3, 2026

The verdict

“space” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #598. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#598
frequency rank, English: 6,566
“S” headwords: 7
tracked misspellings: 20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Unlimited or generalized extent, physical or otherwise.

Corpus desk

Index EN-space · space · English

space · rank #598 · 7 variants · 20 confusables

FREQ-CORE #598
LEN-MID 5 letters
VOW-2 2 vowels
CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
VAR-MID 7 variants
BOOK-DENSE 6,566
PHOTO-FINISH shows

Nearest frequency peer: shows (-1 rank slots)

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.

results

99,406
running

99,405
shows

99,404
space

99,403
summer

99,402
term

99,401

What this shows Bars show where “space” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

space vs span

60% similar

space vs spam

60% similar

space vs spec

60% similar

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

Key facts for space
Property	Value
Headword	space
Language	English
Part of speech	Noun
IPA	/speɪs/
Letters	5
Frequency rank	#598
Misspellings tracked	7
Confusable pairs	20
Source	Wiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “space” sits in English frequency

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).spacelands here:

#598

#1#100#1K#10K#100K

← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “shows” (#597), “summer” (#599), “running” (#596). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 7 spelling variants around space (IPA /speɪs/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #598 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 17 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for space, with forms such as "psace", "sapce", and "spacce". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "span", "spam", "spec", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English space, from Anglo-Norman space, variant of espace, espas, et al.; and spaze, variant of espace, from Latin spatium, from Proto-Indo-European *(s)peh₂- (“to stretch, to pull”). The correct English form is space, spelled S-P-A-C-E.

Definition

1
Unlimited or generalized extent, physical or otherwise.
2
Unlimited or generalized extent, physical or otherwise.
3
Unlimited or generalized extent, physical or otherwise.
4
Unlimited or generalized extent, physical or otherwise.
5
Unlimited or generalized extent, physical or otherwise.
6
Of time.
7
Of time.
8
Of time.
9
A bounded or specific extent, physical or otherwise.
10
A bounded or specific extent, physical or otherwise.
11
A bounded or specific extent, physical or otherwise.
12
A bounded or specific extent, physical or otherwise.
13
A bounded or specific extent, physical or otherwise.
14
A bounded or specific extent, physical or otherwise.
15
A bounded or specific extent, physical or otherwise.
16
A bounded or specific extent, physical or otherwise.
17
A bounded or specific extent, physical or otherwise.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

But neere him, thy Angell / Becomes a feare: as being o're-powr'd, therefore / Make ſpace enough betweene you.
Which means that for every car there was 10 years ago, there are now 40. Which means - and this is my own, not totally scientific, calculation - that the space between cars on the roads in 1991 was roughly 39 car lengths, because today there is no space at all.

Etymology

From Middle English space, from Anglo-Norman space, variant of espace, espas, et al.; and spaze, variant of espace, from Latin spatium, from Proto-Indo-European *(s)peh₂- (“to stretch, to pull”).

This word in other languages

espacio(Español)espace(Français)Raum(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

psace
sapce
spacce
spaec
spcae
sppace
sspace

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of space - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

Edit distance from "space"

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 "space"?

"space" is spelled S-P-A-C-E. The IPA pronunciation is /speɪs/.

What does "space" mean?

As a noun, "space" means: Unlimited or generalized extent, physical or otherwise.

What words are commonly confused with "space"?

"space" is commonly confused with "span", "spam", "spec". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.

How do you pronounce "space"?

The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "space" is /speɪs/. 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 "space"?

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.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "space", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

shows#597 price#592 issue#589 force#587

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (7 here; floor ≥5).

summer7 variants killed7 variants seems7 variants total7 variants

What to do next

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

"space" maps to 20 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "span". View pair
7 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
Usage frequency rank #598 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
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.