spacer

/ˈspeɪsɚ/

//ˈspeɪsɚ// noun

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

"spacer" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“spacer” has 9 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #35,947. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#35,947
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
9
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A person who works or lives in space.

Corpus desk

Index EN-spacer · spacer · English

spacer · rank #35,947 · 9 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #35,947
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 9 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH spacetime

Nearest frequency peer: spacetime (+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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “spacer”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “spacer” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

spacer vs spar
67% similar
spacer vs spare
67% similar
spacer vs spice
67% similar

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

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 seat of misspelling magnet “spacer”

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).spacerlands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “spacetime” (#35,948), “sorghum” (#35,945), “Spartacus” (#35,949). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “spacer” is #35,947. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 9 spelling variants around spacer (IPA /ˈspeɪsɚ/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #35,947 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 6 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for spacer, with forms such as "psacer", "sapcer", and "spaccer". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. 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. The correct English form is spacer, spelled S-P-A-C-E-R.

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.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. It was the futile throwing back in the face of the Spacers their most keenly felt insult: their insistence on considering the natives of Earth as disgustingly diseased.
  2. "How do I know I can trust you?" asked BKR. Grakker hesitated. "Spacer's oath," he said at last.

Etymology

From space + -er.

This word in other languages

separador(Español)entretoise(Français)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • psacer
  • sapcer
  • spaccer
  • spacerr
  • spacre
  • spaecr
  • spcaer
  • sppacer
  • sspacer

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of spacer - 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.

psacer2sapcer2spaccer1spacerr1spacre2spaecr2spcaer2sppacer1
Edit distance from "spacer"

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 "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.

Similar English words by spelling shape

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

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

snarky#35,941squeal#35,955squish#35,956Skylar#35,937

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (9 here; floor ≥5).

slugger9 variantsstunner9 variantsRoseanne9 variantstillman9 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list