spark
/spɑɹk/
"spark" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“spark” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #7,290 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #7,290
- frequency rank, English
- 5
- letters
- 8
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A small particle of glowing matter, either molten or on fire, resulting from an electrical surge or excessive heat created by friction.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | spark |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /spɑɹk/ |
| Letters | 5 |
| Frequency rank | #7,290 |
| Misspellings tracked | 8 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “spark” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for spark is 5 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /spɑɹk/. Corpus data places it at rank #7,290 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 9 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for spark, with forms such as "psark", "saprk", and "spakr". 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, "SPR", "star", "spur", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English sparke, sperke, from Old English spearca, from Proto-West Germanic *sparkō (compare Saterland Frisian Spoorke, West Frisian spark, Dutch spark, German Low German Sparke, German Sparke), perhaps from Proto-Germanic *sparkaz (“lively, ener… The correct English form is spark, spelled S-P-A-R-K.
Definition
- 1A small particle of glowing matter, either molten or on fire, resulting from an electrical surge or excessive heat created by friction.
- 2A short or small burst of electrical discharge.
- 3A small, shining body, or transient light; a sparkle.
- 4A small amount of something, such as an idea or romantic affection, that has the potential to become something greater, just as a spark can start a fire.
- 5Any of various lycaenid butterflies of the Indomalayan genus Sinthusa.
- 6A ship's radio operator.
- 7An electrician.
- 8A small collection of cells which briefly appears at the edge of a larger pattern before dying off.
- 9A diamond, especially one set in a piece of jewellery.
Etymology
From Middle English sparke, sperke, from Old English spearca, from Proto-West Germanic *sparkō (compare Saterland Frisian Spoorke, West Frisian spark, Dutch spark, German Low German Sparke, German Sparke), perhaps from Proto-Germanic *sparkaz (“lively, energetic”), from Proto-Indo-European *sperg- (“to strew, sprinkle”) (compare Breton erc’h (“snow”), Latin spargō (“to scatter, spread”), sparsus (“scattered”), Lithuanian sprógti (“to germinate”), Ancient Greek σπαργάω (spargáō, “to swell”), Avestan 𐬟𐬭𐬀𐬯𐬞𐬀𐬭𐬈𐬔𐬀 (frasparega, “branch, twig”), Sanskrit पर्जन्य (parjanya, “rain, rain god”)).
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: psark,saprk,spakr,sparkk,sparrk,sppark,sprak,sspark
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of spark - 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.
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
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Using “spark”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is S-P-A-R-K - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /spɑɹk/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “SPR” - see the side-by-side comparison. spark vs SPR
- 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.