sperm

/spɜɹm/

//spɜɹm// noun

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

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

The verdict

“sperm” has 8 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #9,102. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#9,102
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
8
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The reproductive cell or gamete of the male; a spermatozoon.

Corpus desk

Index EN-sperm · sperm · English

sperm · rank #9,102 · 8 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #9,102
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 8 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH sox

Nearest frequency peer: sox (-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 “sperm”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “sperm” 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).

sperm vs SPR
0% similar
sperm vs stem
60% similar
sperm vs spur
60% similar

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

Key facts for sperm
PropertyValue
Headwordsperm
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/spɜɹm/
Letters5
Frequency rank#9,102
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “sperm”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).spermlands 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 “sox” (#9,101), “spill” (#9,103), “smashed” (#9,100). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “sperm” is #9,102. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 8 spelling variants around sperm (IPA /spɜɹm/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #9,102 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for sperm, with forms such as "pserm", "seprm", and "spemr". 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", "stem", "spur", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English sperme, from Latin sperma, from Ancient Greek σπέρμα (spérma, “seed, semen”). Compare also Old French esperme, sparme. The correct English form is sperm, spelled S-P-E-R-M.

Definition

  1. 1
    The reproductive cell or gamete of the male; a spermatozoon.
  2. 2
    Semen; the generative substance of male animals.
  3. 3
    Sperm oil; whale oil from a sperm whale; spermaceti.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. In the Fall into the division of labor, Levi-Strauss sees the great hunters trading women to create the exogamous bonds of one hunting band with another. The egg is, but the sperm does. The tiny sperm may be furious in its activity, but its highway to the egg is paved by the alkaline trail set down by the Great Mother.
  2. Seeing the two little moving cells – the result of her egg and Luke's sperm – was incredible, and two very long weeks later the clinic confirmed I was pregnant.

Etymology

From Middle English sperme, from Latin sperma, from Ancient Greek σπέρμα (spérma, “seed, semen”). Compare also Old French esperme, sparme.

Synonyms

cumsemenspermatozoonsperm cellmiltseed

This word in other languages

espermatozoide(Español)spermatozoïde(Français)Spermium(Deutsch)esperma(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • pserm
  • seprm
  • spemr
  • spermm
  • sperrm
  • spperm
  • sprem
  • ssperm

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

pserm2seprm2spemr2spermm1sperrm1spperm1sprem2ssperm1
Edit distance from "sperm"

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 "sperm"?
"sperm" is spelled S-P-E-R-M. The IPA pronunciation is /spɜɹm/.
What does "sperm" mean?
As a noun, "sperm" means: The reproductive cell or gamete of the male; a spermatozoon.
What words are commonly confused with "sperm"?
"sperm" is commonly confused with "SPR", "stem", "spur". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "sperm"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "sperm" is /spɜɹm/. 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 "sperm"?
From Middle English sperme, from Latin sperma, from Ancient Greek σπέρμα (spérma, “seed, semen”). Compare also Old French esperme, sparme. 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 "sperm", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

spill#9,103swamp#9,107tasty#9,111ruler#9,091

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (8 here; floor ≥5).

vanilla8 variantsviolet8 variantsWendy8 variantsmelissa8 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list