sport

/spɔːt/

//spɔːt// noun

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

"sport" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“sport” has 8 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #1,921. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#1,921
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
8
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Any activity that uses physical exertion or skills competitively under a set of rules that is not based on aesthetics.

Corpus desk

Index EN-sport · sport · English

sport · rank #1,921 · 8 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #1,921
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 8 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH Spanish

Nearest frequency peer: Spanish (-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 “sport”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “sport” 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).

sport vs SPR
0% similar
sport vs spot
80% similar
sport vs spur
60% similar

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

Key facts for sport
PropertyValue
Headwordsport
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/spɔːt/
Letters5
Frequency rank#1,921
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “sport”

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).sportlands here:

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “Spanish” (#1,920), “steps” (#1,922), “solid” (#1,919). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “sport” is #1,921. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 8 spelling variants around sport (IPA /spɔːt/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #1,921 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 14 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for sport, with forms such as "psort", "soprt", and "sporrt". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "SPR", "spot", "spur", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English sporten (“to divert, disport”, verb) and sport, spoort, sporte (noun), apheretic shortenings of disporten (verb) and disport, disporte (noun), from Old French desporter (“to divert, amuse, please, play; to seek amusement”), etymologicall… The correct English form is sport, spelled S-P-O-R-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    Any activity that uses physical exertion or skills competitively under a set of rules that is not based on aesthetics.
  2. 2
    A person who exhibits either good or bad sportsmanship.
  3. 3
    Somebody who behaves or reacts in an admirably good-natured manner, e.g. to being teased or to losing a game; a good sport.
  4. 4
    Something fun, pastime; amusement.
  5. 5
    Mockery, making fun; derision.
  6. 6
    A toy; a plaything; an object of mockery.
  7. 7
    Gaming for money as in racing, hunting, or fishing.
  8. 8
    A plant or an animal, or part of a plant or animal, which has some peculiarity not usually seen in the species; an abnormal variety or growth. The term encompasses both mutants and organisms with non-genetic developmental abnormalities such as birth defects.
  9. 9
    A sportsman; a gambler.
  10. 10
    One who consorts with disreputable people, including prostitutes.
  11. 11
    An amorous dalliance.
  12. 12
    A friend or acquaintance (chiefly used when speaking to the friend in question)
  13. 13
    Term of endearment used by an adult for a child, usually a boy.
  14. 14
    Play; idle jingle.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Basketball is her favorite sport, and she also enjoys various other sports as well.
  2. Sport can be an excellent form of exercise because the competition and sense of achievement can help with both motivation and pleasure.

Etymology

From Middle English sporten (“to divert, disport”, verb) and sport, spoort, sporte (noun), apheretic shortenings of disporten (verb) and disport, disporte (noun), from Old French desporter (“to divert, amuse, please, play; to seek amusement”), etymologically meaning "to carry away (the mind from serious matters)," from des- + porter, from Latin dis- + Latin portāre, ultimately from Latin deportāre, from de- + portāre, from Proto-Indo-European *per- (“to lead, pass over”)). Replaced native English laik, lake (“sport, fun, amusement”), and Middle English spile, spyl (“fun, sport, play”). More at disport. Doublet of disport and deport.

This word in other languages

deporte(Español)sport(Français)Sport(Deutsch)esporte(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • psort
  • soprt
  • sporrt
  • sportt
  • spotr
  • spport
  • sprot
  • ssport

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

psort2soprt2sporrt1sportt1spotr2spport1sprot2ssport1
Edit distance from "sport"

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 "sport"?
"sport" is spelled S-P-O-R-T. The IPA pronunciation is /spɔːt/.
What does "sport" mean?
As a noun, "sport" means: Any activity that uses physical exertion or skills competitively under a set of rules that is not based on aesthetics.
What words are commonly confused with "sport"?
"sport" is commonly confused with "SPR", "spot", "spur". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "sport"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "sport" is /spɔːt/. 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 "sport"?
From Middle English sporten (“to divert, disport”, verb) and sport, spoort, sporte (noun), apheretic shortenings of disporten (verb) and disport, disporte (noun), from Old French desporter (“to divert, amuse, please, play; to seek amusement”), ety... 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 "sport", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

steps#1,922solid#1,919sides#1,918taste#1,924

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (8 here; floor ≥5).

stress8 variantsreduce8 variantsfacts8 variantsjoined8 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list