spinster

/ˈspɪnstə/

//ˈspɪnstə// noun

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

"spinster" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“spinster” has 13 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #42,416. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#42,416
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
13
tracked misspellings
7
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A woman who has never been married, especially one past the typical marrying age according to social traditions.

Corpus desk

Index EN-spinster · spinster · English

spinster · rank #42,416 · 13 variants · 7 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #42,416
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 7 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 13 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH speedo

Nearest frequency peer: speedo (-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 “spinster”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “spinster” 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).

spinster vs splinter
75% similar
spinster vs sprinter
75% similar
spinster vs sister
75% similar

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

Key facts for spinster
PropertyValue
Headwordspinster
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈspɪnstə/
Letters8
Frequency rank#42,416
Misspellings tracked13
Confusable pairs7
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “spinster”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).spinsterlands 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 “speedo” (#42,415), “Solomons” (#42,414), “Solihull” (#42,413). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “spinster” is #42,416. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 13 spelling variants around spinster (IPA /ˈspɪnstə/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #42,416 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 5 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 13 likely wrong-spelling variants for spinster, with forms such as "psinster", "sipnster", and "spinnster". 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 7 confusable-pair relationships, "splinter", "sprinter", "sister", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: 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. The correct English form is spinster, spelled S-P-I-N-S-T-E-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    A woman who has never been married, especially one past the typical marrying age according to social traditions.
  2. 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. 3
    Someone whose occupation was spinning thread.
  4. 4
    A woman of evil life and character; so called from being forced to spin in a house of correction.
  5. 5
    A spider; an insect (such as a silkworm) which spins thread.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. If […] a woman be named spinster, she may abate […]the same [writ].
  2. The spinsters and the knitters in the sun.

Etymology

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.

This word in other languages

solterona(Español)vieille fille(Français)Junggesellin(Deutsch)solteirona(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • psinster
  • sipnster
  • spinnster
  • spinsetr
  • spinsster
  • spinsterr
  • spinstre
  • spinstter
  • spintser
  • spisnter
  • spnister
  • sppinster
  • sspinster

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

psinster2sipnster2spinnster1spinsetr2spinsster1spinsterr1spinstre2spinstter1
Edit distance from "spinster"

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 "spinster"?
"spinster" is spelled S-P-I-N-S-T-E-R. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈspɪnstə/.
What does "spinster" mean?
As a noun, "spinster" means: A woman who has never been married, especially one past the typical marrying age according to social traditions.
What words are commonly confused with "spinster"?
"spinster" is commonly confused with "splinter", "sprinter", "sister". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "spinster"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "spinster" is /ˈspɪnstə/. 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 "spinster"?
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. 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 "spinster", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Solomons#42,414Solihull#42,413straying#42,425tailings#42,443

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (13 here; floor ≥5).

thruster13 variantstrifling13 variantsundaunted13 variantswinemaker13 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list