sportsperson

/spɔɹtspɝsən/

//spɔɹtspɝsən// noun

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

"sportsperson" is a 12-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“sportsperson” is an uncommon English word, ranked #84,773 in English word frequency and used as a noun.

#84,773
frequency rank, English
12
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Someone who plays sport, regardless of gender.

Key facts for sportsperson
PropertyValue
Headwordsportsperson
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/spɔɹtspɝsən/
Letters12
Frequency rank#84,773
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “sportsperson” 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). sportsperson 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 sportsperson is 12 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /spɔɹtspɝsən/. Corpus data places it at rank #84,773 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "Someone who plays sport, regardless of gender.".

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for sportsperson, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. 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: From sports + person. The correct English form is sportsperson, spelled S-P-O-R-T-S-P-E-R-S-O-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    Someone who plays sport, regardless of gender.

Etymology

From sports + person.

This word in other languages

deportista(Español)sportif(Français)Sportler(Deutsch)

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 "sportsperson"?
"sportsperson" is spelled S-P-O-R-T-S-P-E-R-S-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is /spɔɹtspɝsən/.
What does "sportsperson" mean?
As a noun, "sportsperson" means: Someone who plays sport, regardless of gender.
How do you pronounce "sportsperson"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "sportsperson" is /spɔɹtspɝsən/. 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 "sportsperson"?
From sports + person. 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 “sportsperson”

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

  • The one correct English spelling is S-P-O-R-T-S-P-E-R-S-O-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /spɔɹtspɝsən/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • 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