English Word Reference Free

spacer

Definition, pronunciation, etymology, and usage for the English word. Free spelling reference powered by Wiktionary.

Letters

6 characters

Language

English

word origin

Source

Wiktionary

open dictionary

Access

Free

no sign-up needed

Detailed reference entry for the English word "spacer", 6-letters, with pronunciation in International Phonetic Alphabet notation, etymology traced through Germanic and Romance roots where applicable, common misspelling variants catalogued from Hunspell error dictionaries, and usage frequency ranked against the top 100,000 English words in the Wordfreq corpus. PlainSpell covers English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German spelling with confusable-pair detection that highlights visually and phonetically similar words. This entry for "spacer" includes synonyms, antonyms, homophones, and cross-language translation pointers sourced from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org extract. Whether you are verifying the correct spelling of "spacer" for academic writing, checking homophone confusion, or exploring etymological origins, this page provides a citation-backed, free reference that requires no sign-up.

spacer is aEnglishnoun. It means: A person who works or lives in space. Pronounced /ˈspeɪsɚ/. Often confused with spar and spare.

Key facts for spacer
PropertyValue
Headwordspacer
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈspeɪsɚ/
Letters6
Frequency rank#35,947
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency rank visualization

Position of spacer in English word frequency (lower rank = more common)

Source: Wordfreq corpus

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for spacer is 6 letters long, classified as anoun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈspeɪsɚ/. Corpus data places it at rank #35,947 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it.Wiktionary records 6 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our Hunspell-derived misspelling index lists 9 documented wrong-spelling variants for spacer, with forms such as "psacer", "sapcer", and "spaccer". Each variant represents a distinct typo pattern that appears often enough in corpora to be worth flagging, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution.It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "spar", "spare", "spice", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From space + -er. Root origin matters for spelling because borrowed morphemes (Greek, Latin, Old French, Old English) carry their source-language orthographic conventions into modern English, which is why historical etymology is often the cleanest predictor of whether a cluster like "-ough", "-eau", or "-tion" will appear. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct English form is spacer, spelled S-P-A-C-E-R, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

Definition

  1. 1
    A person who works or lives in space.
  2. 2
    An object inserted to hold a space open in a row of items, e.g. beads or printed type.
  3. 3
    A bushing.
  4. 4
    A forgetful person; one who spaces out.
  5. 5
    A type of add-on device used by an asthmatic person to increase the effectiveness of a metered-dose inhaler.
  6. 6
    An instrument for reversing a telegraphic current, especially in a marine cable, to increase the speed of transmission.

Etymology

From space + -er.

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: psacer,sapcer,spaccer,spacerr,spacre,spaecr,spcaer,sppacer,sspacer

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

Relative frequency of common misspelling types for spacer

Misspelling Variants of "spacer"

psacer6sapcer6spaccer7spacerr7spacre6spaecr6spcaer6sppacer7
Misspelling Variants of "spacer"

Frequency rank: #35,947 in English

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "spacer"?
"spacer" is spelled S-P-A-C-E-R. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈspeɪsɚ/.
What does "spacer" mean?
As a noun, "spacer" means: A person who works or lives in space.
What words are commonly confused with "spacer"?
"spacer" is commonly confused with "spar", "spare", "spice". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "spacer"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "spacer" is /ˈspeɪsɚ/. 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 "spacer"?
From space + -er. 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.

Nearby English words

Other entries that begin with the letter S in our English index:

Explore PlainSpell

Data Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Frequency data from Wordfreq. Misspellings derived from Hunspell dictionaries.