sponge

/spʌnd͡ʒ/

//spʌnd͡ʒ// noun

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

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

The verdict

“sponge” has 9 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #13,246. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#13,246
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
9
tracked misspellings
14
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Any of various marine invertebrates of the phylum Porifera, that have a porous skeleton often of silica.

Corpus desk

Index EN-sponge · sponge · English

sponge · rank #13,246 · 9 variants · 14 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #13,246
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 14 pairs
  • VAR-MID 9 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH spec

Nearest frequency peer: spec (-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 “sponge”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “sponge” 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).

sponge vs stone
67% similar
sponge vs spore
67% similar
sponge vs spouse
67% similar

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

Key facts for sponge
PropertyValue
Headwordsponge
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/spʌnd͡ʒ/
Letters6
Frequency rank#13,246
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs14
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “sponge”

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).spongelands 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 “spec” (#13,245), “Steele” (#13,247), “sucker” (#13,248). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “sponge” is #13,246. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 9 spelling variants around sponge (IPA /spʌnd͡ʒ/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #13,246 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 15 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for sponge, with forms such as "psonge", "sopnge", and "spnoge". 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 14 confusable-pair relationships, "stone", "spore", "spouse", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English sponge, from Old English spunge, taken from Latin spongia, from Ancient Greek σπογγιά (spongiá), from σπόγγος (spóngos). The correct English form is sponge, spelled S-P-O-N-G-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Any of various marine invertebrates of the phylum Porifera, that have a porous skeleton often of silica.
  2. 2
    A piece of porous material used for washing (originally made from the invertebrates, now often made of plastic).
  3. 3
    The porous material that synthetic washing sponges are made of.
  4. 4
    A heavy drinker.
  5. 5
    A type of light cake.
  6. 6
    A type of steamed pudding.
  7. 7
    A person who takes advantage of the generosity of others (abstractly imagined to absorb or soak up the money or efforts of others like a sponge).
  8. 8
    A person who readily absorbs ideas.
  9. 9
    A form of contraception that is inserted vaginally; a contraceptive sponge.
  10. 10
    Any sponge-like substance.
  11. 11
    Any sponge-like substance.
  12. 12
    Any sponge-like substance.
  13. 13
    A mop for cleaning the bore of a cannon after a discharge. It consists of a cylinder of wood, covered with sheepskin with the wool on, or cloth with a heavy looped nap, and having a handle, or staff.
  14. 14
    The extremity, or point, of a horseshoe, corresponding to the heel.
  15. 15
    A nuclear power plant worker routinely exposed to radiation.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. She removed Stranleigh’s coat with a dexterity that aroused his imagination. The elder woman returned with dressings and a sponge, which she placed on a chair.
  2. For this reason, we need to think of our children as sponges of information and watch their sources carefully. We also need to always model appropriate behaviour, as we are a constant source of new information.

Etymology

From Middle English sponge, from Old English spunge, taken from Latin spongia, from Ancient Greek σπογγιά (spongiá), from σπόγγος (spóngos).

This word in other languages

esponja(Español)éponge(Français)Schwamm(Deutsch)esponja(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • psonge
  • sopnge
  • spnoge
  • spogne
  • sponeg
  • spongge
  • sponnge
  • spponge
  • ssponge

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

psonge2sopnge2spnoge2spogne2sponeg2spongge1sponnge1spponge1
Edit distance from "sponge"

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 "sponge"?
"sponge" is spelled S-P-O-N-G-E. The IPA pronunciation is /spʌnd͡ʒ/.
What does "sponge" mean?
As a noun, "sponge" means: Any of various marine invertebrates of the phylum Porifera, that have a porous skeleton often of silica.
What words are commonly confused with "sponge"?
"sponge" is commonly confused with "stone", "spore", "spouse". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "sponge"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "sponge" is /spʌnd͡ʒ/. 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 "sponge"?
From Middle English sponge, from Old English spunge, taken from Latin spongia, from Ancient Greek σπογγιά (spongiá), from σπόγγος (spóngos). 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 "sponge", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Steele#13,247sucker#13,248sloppy#13,239sermon#13,235

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (9 here; floor ≥5).

Tiffany9 variantsupheld9 variantsrested9 variantsValerie9 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list