spear

/spɪə̯(ɹ)/

//spɪə̯(ɹ)// noun

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

"spear" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“spear” has 6 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #11,296. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#11,296
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
6
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A long stick with a sharp tip used as a weapon for throwing or thrusting, or anything used to make a thrusting motion.

Corpus desk

Index EN-spear · spear · English

spear · rank #11,296 · 6 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #11,296
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 6 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH Sophia

Nearest frequency peer: Sophia (-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 “spear”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “spear” 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).

spear vs SPR
0% similar
spear vs star
60% similar
spear vs spur
60% similar

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

Key facts for spear
PropertyValue
Headwordspear
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/spɪə̯(ɹ)/
Letters5
Frequency rank#11,296
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “spear”

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).spearlands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “Sophia” (#11,295), “spies” (#11,297), “songwriter” (#11,294). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “spear” is #11,296. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 6 spelling variants around spear (IPA /spɪə̯(ɹ)/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #11,296 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 9 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for spear, with forms such as "psear", "separ", and "spearr". 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, "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 spere, sperre, spear, from Old English spere, from Proto-West Germanic *speru, from Proto-Germanic *speru, from Proto-Indo-European *sperH-. Cognates See also West Frisian spear, Dutch speer, German Speer, Old Norse spjǫr, *sparrô, Middl… The correct English form is spear, spelled S-P-E-A-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    A long stick with a sharp tip used as a weapon for throwing or thrusting, or anything used to make a thrusting motion.
  2. 2
    A soldier armed with such a weapon; a spearman.
  3. 3
    A lance with barbed prongs, used by fishermen to retrieve fish.
  4. 4
    An illegal maneuver using the end of a hockey stick to strike into another hockey player.
  5. 5
    In professional wrestling, a running tackle in which the wrestler's shoulder is driven into the opponent's midsection.
  6. 6
    A shoot, as of grass; a spire.
  7. 7
    The feather of a horse.
  8. 8
    The rod to which the bucket, or plunger, of a pump is attached; a pump rod.
  9. 9
    A long, thin strip from a vegetable.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. It's not like you killed someone It's not like you drove a spiteful spear into his side Talk to Jesus Christ as if he knows the reasons why He did it all for you
  2. Now toil'd the Bruce, the battle done , To use his conquest boldly won; And gave command for horse and spear To press the Southron's scatter'd rear

Etymology

From Middle English spere, sperre, spear, from Old English spere, from Proto-West Germanic *speru, from Proto-Germanic *speru, from Proto-Indo-European *sperH-. Cognates See also West Frisian spear, Dutch speer, German Speer, Old Norse spjǫr, *sparrô, Middle Dutch sparre (“rafter”), Old Norse sparri (“spar, rafter”), sperra (“rafter, beam”); also Latin sparus (“short spear”), Albanian ferrë (“thorn, thornbush”).

This word in other languages

lanza(Español)lance(Français)Speer(Deutsch)lança(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • psear
  • separ
  • spearr
  • spera
  • sppear
  • sspear

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of spear - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

psear2separ2spearr1spera2sppear1sspear1
Edit distance from "spear"

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 "spear"?
"spear" is spelled S-P-E-A-R. The IPA pronunciation is /spɪə̯(ɹ)/.
What does "spear" mean?
As a noun, "spear" means: A long stick with a sharp tip used as a weapon for throwing or thrusting, or anything used to make a thrusting motion.
What words are commonly confused with "spear"?
"spear" is commonly confused with "SPR", "star", "spur". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "spear"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "spear" is /spɪə̯(ɹ)/. 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 "spear"?
From Middle English spere, sperre, spear, from Old English spere, from Proto-West Germanic *speru, from Proto-Germanic *speru, from Proto-Indo-European *sperH-. Cognates See also West Frisian spear, Dutch speer, German Speer, Old Norse spjǫr, *spa... 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 "spear", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

spies#11,297stain#11,298Salem#11,287tidal#11,309

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (6 here; floor ≥5).

stella6 variantssank6 variantsRonnie6 variantsbans6 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list