sphincter
/ˈsfɪŋk.tɚ/
"sphincter" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“sphincter” has 15 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #39,102. The variants make it a useful spelling check.
- #39,102
- frequency rank, English
- 6,566
- “S” headwords
- 15
- tracked misspellings
- 3
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A ringlike band of muscle that surrounds a bodily opening (such as the anus or the openings of the stomach), constricting and relaxing as required for normal physiological functioning.
Corpus desk
Index EN-sphincter · sphincter · English
sphincter · rank #39,102 · 15 variants · 3 confusables
- FREQ-MID #39,102
- LEN-LONG 9 letters
- VOW-2 2 vowels
- CONFUS-LOW 3 pairs
- VAR-HIGH 15 variants
- BOOK-DENSE 6,566
- PHOTO-FINISH spender
Nearest frequency peer: spender (-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 “sphincter”
Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword
- sorceress
sorceress
60,903 corpus weight
- spender
spender
60,900 corpus weight
- sphincter
sphincter
60,899 corpus weight
- Stalinist
Stalinist
60,895 corpus weight
- stank
stank
60,894 corpus weight
- sternum
sternum
60,893 corpus weight
What this shows “sphincter” 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 | sphincter |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈsfɪŋk.tɚ/ |
| Letters | 9 |
| Frequency rank | #39,102 |
| Misspellings tracked | 15 |
| Confusable pairs | 3 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “sphincter”
A misspelling magnet
The generator records 15 spelling variants around sphincter (IPA /ˈsfɪŋk.tɚ/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #39,102 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Dominant gloss: "A ringlike band of muscle that surrounds a bodily opening (such as the anus or the openings of the stomach), constricting and relaxing as required for normal physiological functioning.".
Our generated misspelling index lists 15 likely wrong-spelling variants for sphincter, with forms such as "pshincter", "shpincter", and "sphhincter". 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 3 confusable-pair relationships, "splinter", "sprinter", "spinster", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: Etymology tree Late Latin sphinctērlbor. English sphincter Learned borrowing from Late Latin sphinctēr (“the muscle of the anus”), from Ancient Greek σφῐγκτήρ (sphĭnktḗr, “lace, band; contractile muscle”), ultimately of Pre-Greek origin. Possibly related to… The correct English form is sphincter, spelled S-P-H-I-N-C-T-E-R.
Definition
- 1A ringlike band of muscle that surrounds a bodily opening (such as the anus or the openings of the stomach), constricting and relaxing as required for normal physiological functioning.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how sphincter appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
the sphincter of the bladder
the iris sphincter in the eye
Etymology
Etymology tree Late Latin sphinctērlbor. English sphincter Learned borrowing from Late Latin sphinctēr (“the muscle of the anus”), from Ancient Greek σφῐγκτήρ (sphĭnktḗr, “lace, band; contractile muscle”), ultimately of Pre-Greek origin. Possibly related to sphinx (“the strangler”).
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as:
- pshincter
- shpincter
- sphhincter
- sphicnter
- sphinccter
- sphincetr
- sphincterr
- sphinctre
- sphinctter
- sphinncter
- sphintcer
- sphnicter
- spihncter
- spphincter
- ssphincter
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of sphincter - 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.
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 "sphincter"?
What does "sphincter" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "sphincter"?
How do you pronounce "sphincter"?
What is the origin of the word "sphincter"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "sphincter", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).
Similar misspelling depth
Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (15 here; floor ≥5).