spirit

/ˈspɪɹɪt/

//ˈspɪɹɪt// noun

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

"spirit" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“spirit” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #1,704 in English word frequency and used as a noun.

#1,704
frequency rank, English
6
letters
9
tracked misspellings
16
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The soul of a person or other creature.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

spirit vs spit
67% similar
spirit vs sport
67% similar
spirit vs split
67% similar

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

Key facts for spirit
PropertyValue
Headwordspirit
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈspɪɹɪt/
Letters6
Frequency rank#1,704
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs16
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “spirit” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). spirit lands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for spirit is 6 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈspɪɹɪt/. Corpus data places it at rank #1,704 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 14 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for spirit, with forms such as "psirit", "siprit", and "spiirt". 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 16 confusable-pair relationships, "spit", "sport", "split", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English spirit, from Old French espirit (“spirit”), from Latin spīritus (“breath; spirit”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)peys- (“to blow, breathe”). Compare inspire, respire, transpire, all ultimately from Latin spīrō (“to breathe, blow, respire… The correct English form is spirit, spelled S-P-I-R-I-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    The soul of a person or other creature.
  2. 2
    A supernatural being, often but not exclusively without physical form; ghost, fairy, angel.
  3. 3
    Enthusiasm.
  4. 4
    The manner or style of something.
  5. 5
    Intent; real meaning; opposed to the letter, or formal statement.
  6. 6
    A volatile liquid, such as alcohol. The plural form spirits is a generic term for distilled alcoholic beverages.
  7. 7
    Energy; ardour.
  8. 8
    One who is vivacious or lively; one who evinces great activity or peculiar characteristics of mind or temper.
  9. 9
    Temper or disposition of mind; mental condition or disposition; intellectual or moral state.
  10. 10
    Air set in motion by breathing; breath; hence, sometimes, life itself.
  11. 11
    A rough breathing; an aspirate, such as the letter h; also, a mark denoting aspiration.
  12. 12
    Any of the four substances: sulphur, sal ammoniac, quicksilver, and arsenic (or, according to some, orpiment).
  13. 13
    Stannic chloride.
  14. 14
    The essence behind historical development of both individual and society evolving towards the Absolute.

Etymology

From Middle English spirit, from Old French espirit (“spirit”), from Latin spīritus (“breath; spirit”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)peys- (“to blow, breathe”). Compare inspire, respire, transpire, all ultimately from Latin spīrō (“to breathe, blow, respire”). In this sense, displaced native Middle English gast (from Old English gāst), whence modern English ghost. Doublet of spiritus, spirytus, sprite, spright, and esprit.

Synonyms

spiritliqueurliquorapparitionspectervision

This word in other languages

espíritu(Español)esprit(Français)Geist(Deutsch)espírito(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: psirit,siprit,spiirt,spiritt,spirrit,spirti,sppirit,spriit,sspirit

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of spirit - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

psirit2siprit2spiirt2spiritt1spirrit1spirti2sppirit1spriit2
Edit distance from "spirit"

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 "spirit"?
"spirit" is spelled S-P-I-R-I-T. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈspɪɹɪt/.
What does "spirit" mean?
As a noun, "spirit" means: The soul of a person or other creature.
What words are commonly confused with "spirit"?
"spirit" is commonly confused with "spit", "sport", "split". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "spirit"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "spirit" is /ˈspɪɹɪt/. 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 "spirit"?
From Middle English spirit, from Old French espirit (“spirit”), from Latin spīritus (“breath; spirit”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)peys- (“to blow, breathe”). Compare inspire, respire, transpire, all ultimately from Latin spīrō (“to breathe, blo... 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.

Using “spirit”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is S-P-I-R-I-T - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /ˈspɪɹɪt/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “spit” - see the side-by-side comparison. spirit vs spit
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list