spine

/spaɪn/

//spaɪn// noun

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

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

The verdict

“spine” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #7,983. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#7,983
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
7
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A series of bones situated at the back from the head to the pelvis of a human, or from the head to the tail of an animal, enclosing the spinal cord and providing support for the thorax and abdomen.

Corpus desk

Index EN-spine · spine · English

spine · rank #7,983 · 7 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #7,983
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 7 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH speeches

Nearest frequency peer: speeches (-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 “spine”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “spine” 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).

spine vs spit
60% similar
spine vs spun
60% similar
spine vs stone
60% similar

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

Key facts for spine
PropertyValue
Headwordspine
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/spaɪn/
Letters5
Frequency rank#7,983
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “spine”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).spinelands 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 “speeches” (#7,982), “steering” (#7,984), “soundtrack” (#7,981). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “spine” is #7,983. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 7 spelling variants around spine (IPA /spaɪn/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #7,983 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 11 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for spine, with forms such as "psine", "sipne", and "spien". 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 20 confusable-pair relationships, "spit", "spun", "stone", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From late Middle English spyne, from Old French espine (French épine) or its source, Latin spīna (“a thorn; a prickle, spine; the backbone”). Doublet of spina. The correct English form is spine, spelled S-P-I-N-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A series of bones situated at the back from the head to the pelvis of a human, or from the head to the tail of an animal, enclosing the spinal cord and providing support for the thorax and abdomen.
  2. 2
    A series of bones situated at the back from the head to the pelvis of a human, or from the head to the tail of an animal, enclosing the spinal cord and providing support for the thorax and abdomen.
  3. 3
    Something resembling a backbone, such as a ridge, or a long, central structure from which other structures radiate.
  4. 4
    The narrow, bound edge of a book that encloses the inner edges of the pages, facing outwards when the book is on a shelf and typically bearing the title and the author's and publisher's name.
  5. 5
    A pointed, fairly rigid protuberance or needlelike structure on an animal, shell, mushroom or plant. The botanical term technically refers to such a structure derived from a leaf or part of a leaf.
  6. 6
    The heartwood of trees.
  7. 7
    Ellipsis of dendritic spine.
  8. 8
    A linear payscale operated by some large organizations that allows flexibility for local and specific conditions.
  9. 9
    A tall mass of viscous lava extruded from a volcano.
  10. 10
    The stiffness of an arrow.
  11. 11
    A central part which supports a whole; core.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. If you attentively regard almost any quadruped's spine, you will be struck with the resemblance of its vertebrae to a strung necklace of dwarfed skulls.
  2. The preposterous altruism too! […] Resist not evil. It is an insane immolation of self—as bad intrinsically as fakirs stabbing themselves or anchorites warping their spines in caves scarcely large enough for a fair-sized dog.

Etymology

From late Middle English spyne, from Old French espine (French épine) or its source, Latin spīna (“a thorn; a prickle, spine; the backbone”). Doublet of spina.

This word in other languages

columna vertebral(Español)colonne vertébrale(Français)Rückgrat(Deutsch)espinha(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • psine
  • sipne
  • spien
  • spinne
  • spnie
  • sppine
  • sspine

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

psine2sipne2spien2spinne1spnie2sppine1sspine1
Edit distance from "spine"

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 "spine"?
"spine" is spelled S-P-I-N-E. The IPA pronunciation is /spaɪn/.
What does "spine" mean?
As a noun, "spine" means: A series of bones situated at the back from the head to the pelvis of a human, or from the head to the tail of an animal, enclosing the spinal cord and providing support for the thorax and abdomen.
What words are commonly confused with "spine"?
"spine" is commonly confused with "spit", "spun", "stone". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "spine"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "spine" is /spaɪn/. 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 "spine"?
From late Middle English spyne, from Old French espine (French épine) or its source, Latin spīna (“a thorn; a prickle, spine; the backbone”). Doublet of spina. 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 "spine", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

sonic#7,980sixty#7,978siege#7,977Seoul#7,975

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (7 here; floor ≥5).

admin7 variantsprone7 variantsbaked7 variantspierce7 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list