spinster
/ˈspɪnstɚ/noun
spinster is spelled S-P-I-N-S-T-E-R: 8 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 42,145th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a derogatory noun, spinster means “A woman who has never been married, especially one past the typical marrying age according to social traditions” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of spinster is spinsters.
How many letters and syllables are in spinster?
| Letters | 8: S-P-I-N-S-T-E-R |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 42,145th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is spinster?
Spinster appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 42,145th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce spinster?
- UK /ˈspɪnstə/
- US /ˈspɪnstɚ/
Spinster has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-spinster.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with spinster?
One word on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as spinster from its last stressed vowel (/ɪnstəɹ/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of spinster
- spinsters plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does spinster mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
derogatoryA woman who has never been married, especially one past the typical marrying age according to social traditions.
- 2
One who spins (puts a spin on) a political media story so as to give something a favorable or advantageous appearance; a spin doctor, spin merchant or spinmeister.
- 3
obsoleteSomeone whose occupation was spinning thread.
- 4
obsoleteA woman of evil life and character; so called from being forced to spin in a house of correction.
- 5
rareA spider; an insect (such as a silkworm) which spins thread.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Spinster in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | vieille fille , fileur, fileuse |
| German | alte Jungfer, Junggesellin, unverheiratete Frau, älteres Fräulein , Spinner, Spinnerin |
| Portuguese | solteira, solteirona, encalhada , fiadeiro, fiadeira |
| Spanish | solterona, quedada |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does spinster come from?
From Middle English spynnestere (“woman who spins fibre”), from c. 1350; equivalent to spin + -ster. The semantic development is from a historical notion of unmarried women spinning thread for a living.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).