spindle

/ˈspɪndəl/

//ˈspɪndəl// noun

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

"spindle" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“spindle” has 11 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #25,590. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#25,590
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
11
tracked misspellings
6
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A rod used for spinning and then winding fibres (especially wool), usually consisting of a shaft and a circular whorl positioned at either the upper or lower end of the shaft when suspended vertica...

Corpus desk

Index EN-spindle · spindle · English

spindle · rank #25,590 · 11 variants · 6 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #25,590
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 6 pairs
  • VAR-MID 11 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH sparsely

Nearest frequency peer: sparsely (-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 “spindle”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “spindle” 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).

spindle vs spine
71% similar
spindle vs swindle
86% similar
spindle vs sprinkle
75% similar

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

Key facts for spindle
PropertyValue
Headwordspindle
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈspɪndəl/
Letters7
Frequency rank#25,590
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs6
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “spindle”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).spindlelands here:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “sparsely” (#25,589), “spoilt” (#25,591), “spoof” (#25,592). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “spindle” is #25,590. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 11 spelling variants around spindle (IPA /ˈspɪndəl/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #25,590 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 17 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for spindle, with forms such as "psindle", "sipndle", and "spidnle". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 6 confusable-pair relationships, "spine", "swindle", "sprinkle", 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 spyndel, spindle, spyndylle, from Old English spindle, spindel, alteration of earlier spinel, spinil, spinl (“spindle”), from Proto-West Germanic *spinnilu (“spindle”), equivalent to spin + -le. Cognate with Scots spindil, spinnell (“spi… The correct English form is spindle, spelled S-P-I-N-D-L-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A rod used for spinning and then winding fibres (especially wool), usually consisting of a shaft and a circular whorl positioned at either the upper or lower end of the shaft when suspended vertically from the forming thread.
  2. 2
    A rod which turns, or on which something turns.
  3. 3
    A rotary axis of a machine tool or power tool.
  4. 4
    The axle of a bottom bracket.
  5. 5
    Certain of the species of the genus Euonymus, originally used for making the spindles used for spinning wool.
  6. 6
    An upright spike for holding paper documents by skewering.
  7. 7
    The fusee of a watch.
  8. 8
    Any long and slender stalk resembling a spindle from Euonymus.
  9. 9
    A yarn measure containing, in cotton yarn, 15,120 yards; in linen yarn, 14,400 yards.
  10. 10
    A solid generated by the revolution of a curved line about its base or double ordinate or chord.
  11. 11
    Any marine univalve shell of the genus Tibia; a spindle stromb.
  12. 12
    Any marine gastropod with a spindle-shaped shell formerly in one of the three invalid genera called Fusus.
  13. 13
    A cytoskeletal structure formed during mitosis.
  14. 14
    A dragonfly.
  15. 15
    A plastic container for packaging optical discs such as CDs or DVDs, having a central column that passes through the central holes in the discs and keeps them in a stack.
  16. 16
    A muscle spindle.
  17. 17
    A sleep spindle.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Anna Pavlovna’s soirée was now in full swing. On all sides the spindles were humming away non-stop.
  2. the spindle of a vane

Etymology

From Middle English spyndel, spindle, spyndylle, from Old English spindle, spindel, alteration of earlier spinel, spinil, spinl (“spindle”), from Proto-West Germanic *spinnilu (“spindle”), equivalent to spin + -le. Cognate with Scots spindil, spinnell (“spindle”), Dutch spindel ("spindle"; < Middle Dutch spille, spinle), German Spindel (“spindle”), Danish spindel (“spindle”), Swedish spindel (“spindle”). The dragonfly sense (noun sense 14) is a calque of Swedish slända (dragonfly/spindle); this word was introduced by New Sweden settlers.

Synonyms

spindle tree

This word in other languages

huso(Español)fuseau(Français)Spindel(Deutsch)fuso(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • psindle
  • sipndle
  • spidnle
  • spinddle
  • spindel
  • spindlle
  • spinlde
  • spinndle
  • spnidle
  • sppindle
  • sspindle

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of spindle - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

psindle2sipndle2spidnle2spinddle1spindel2spindlle1spinlde2spinndle1
Edit distance from "spindle"

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 "spindle"?
"spindle" is spelled S-P-I-N-D-L-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈspɪndəl/.
What does "spindle" mean?
As a noun, "spindle" means: A rod used for spinning and then winding fibres (especially wool), usually consisting of a shaft and a circular whorl positioned at either the upper or lower end of the shaft when suspended vertica...
What words are commonly confused with "spindle"?
"spindle" is commonly confused with "spine", "swindle", "sprinkle". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "spindle"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "spindle" is /ˈspɪndəl/. 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 "spindle"?
From Middle English spyndel, spindle, spyndylle, from Old English spindle, spindel, alteration of earlier spinel, spinil, spinl (“spindle”), from Proto-West Germanic *spinnilu (“spindle”), equivalent to spin + -le. Cognate with Scots spindil, spin... 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 "spindle", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

staffer#25,595snowing#25,584tactile#25,609sampler#25,561

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (11 here; floor ≥5).

Sarajevo11 variantsreliever11 variantswarlord11 variantspostman11 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list