splinter
/ˈsplɪn.tə(ɹ)/
"splinter" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“splinter” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #20,231 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #20,231
- frequency rank, English
- 8
- letters
- 13
- tracked misspellings
- 9
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A long, sharp fragment of material, often wood.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | splinter |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈsplɪn.tə(ɹ)/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #20,231 |
| Misspellings tracked | 13 |
| Confusable pairs | 9 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “splinter” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for splinter is 8 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈsplɪn.tə(ɹ)/. Corpus data places it at rank #20,231 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 5 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 13 likely wrong-spelling variants for splinter, with forms such as "pslinter", "slpinter", and "spilnter". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 9 confusable-pair relationships, "splints", "springer", "sprinter", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English splinter, from Middle Dutch splinter, equivalent to splint + -er. The correct English form is splinter, spelled S-P-L-I-N-T-E-R.
Definition
- 1A long, sharp fragment of material, often wood.
- 2A long, sharp fragment of material, often wood.
- 3A group that formed by splitting off from a larger membership.
- 4A double-jump bid which indicates shortage in the bid suit.
- 5A fragment of a component word in a blend.
Etymology
From Middle English splinter, from Middle Dutch splinter, equivalent to splint + -er.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: pslinter,slpinter,spilnter,splinetr,splinnter,splinterr,splintre,splintter,splitner,spllinter,splniter,spplinter,ssplinter
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of splinter - 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.
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
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Using “splinter”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is S-P-L-I-N-T-E-R - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈsplɪn.tə(ɹ)/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “splints” - see the side-by-side comparison. splinter vs splints
- 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.