spark
/spɑɹk/
"spark" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“spark” has 8 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #7,290. The variants make it a useful spelling check.
- #7,290
- frequency rank, English
- 6,566
- “S” headwords
- 8
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A small particle of glowing matter, either molten or on fire, resulting from an electrical surge or excessive heat created by friction.
Corpus desk
Index EN-spark · spark · English
spark · rank #7,290 · 8 variants · 20 confusables
- FREQ-COMMON #7,290
- LEN-MID 5 letters
- VOW-1 1 vowel
- CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
- VAR-MID 8 variants
- BOOK-DENSE 6,566
- PHOTO-FINISH sore
Nearest frequency peer: sore (-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 “spark”
Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword
- sneak
sneak
92,714 corpus weight
- sore
sore
92,712 corpus weight
- spark
spark
92,711 corpus weight
- speculation
speculation
92,710 corpus weight
- steep
steep
92,709 corpus weight
- Stevens
Stevens
92,708 corpus weight
What this shows “spark” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.
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) |
Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “spark”
A misspelling magnet
The generator records 8 spelling variants around spark (IPA /spɑɹk/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #7,290 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 9 senses, so context still picks the gloss.
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.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how spark appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
if any spark of life be yet remaining
, Book IV, Chapter XVII But though we have, here and there, a little of this clear light, some sparks of bright knowledge
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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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "spark", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).
Similar misspelling depth
Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (8 here; floor ≥5).