spitfire

Name: spitfire, English Word Data
Creator: Wiktionary
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

noun

By PlainSpell · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) · analyzed May 6, 2026

The verdict

“spitfire” has 12 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #30,979. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#30,979
frequency rank, English: 54,294
“S” headwords: 12
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A cannon.

Key facts for spitfire
Property	Value
Headword	spitfire
Language	English
Part of speech	Noun
Letters	8
Frequency rank	#30,979
Misspellings tracked	12
Confusable pairs	0
Source	Wiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “spitfire” 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). spitfire lands here:

#30,979

#1#100#1K#10K#100K

← used constantlyrarely used →

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

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 12 spelling variants around spitfire, anoun. Corpus frequency is #30,979 among 54,294 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for spitfire, with forms such as "psitfire", "siptfire", and "spiftire". 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. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

Etymologically, the entry records: Deverbal from spit fire. The correct English form is spitfire, spelled S-P-I-T-F-I-R-E.

Definition

1
A cannon.
2
A person with a fiery temper, someone easily provoked to anger, especially a woman or girl.
3
A larva of the spitfire sawfly, Perga affinis.

Etymology

Deverbal from spit fire.

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

psitfire
siptfire
spiftire
spitffire
spitfier
spitfirre
spitfrie
spitifre
spittfire
sppitfire
sptifire
sspitfire

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

Edit distance from "spitfire"

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 "spitfire"?

"spitfire" is spelled S-P-I-T-F-I-R-E.

What does "spitfire" mean?

As a noun, "spitfire" means: A cannon.

What are common misspellings of "spitfire"?

Common misspellings include "psitfire", "siptfire", "spiftire", "spitffire", "spitfier". The correct spelling is "spitfire".

What is the origin of the word "spitfire"?

Deverbal from spit fire. 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 “spitfire”

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

The one correct English spelling is S-P-I-T-F-I-R-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words

Same frequency band

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.