spouse

/spaʊ̯s/

//spaʊ̯s// noun

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

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

The verdict

“spouse” has 8 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #7,747. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#7,747
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
8
tracked misspellings
11
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A person in a marriage or marital relationship.

Corpus desk

Index EN-spouse · spouse · English

spouse · rank #7,747 · 8 variants · 11 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #7,747
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 11 pairs
  • VAR-MID 8 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH stat

Nearest frequency peer: stat (+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 “spouse”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “spouse” 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).

spouse vs spout
67% similar
spouse vs spruce
67% similar
spouse vs spouses
86% similar

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

Key facts for spouse
PropertyValue
Headwordspouse
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/spaʊ̯s/
Letters6
Frequency rank#7,747
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs11
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “spouse”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).spouselands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “stat” (#7,748), “supervisor” (#7,749), “sovereign” (#7,744). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “spouse” is #7,747. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 8 spelling variants around spouse (IPA /spaʊ̯s/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #7,747 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Dominant gloss: "A person in a marriage or marital relationship.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for spouse, with forms such as "psouse", "sopuse", and "sposue". 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 11 confusable-pair relationships, "spout", "spruce", "spouses", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English spous, spouse, from Anglo-Norman espus m, espuse f and Old French espos m, espose f and by aphesis from Latin spōnsus m (“bridegroom”), spōnsa f (“bride”), from spondeō (“to vow, pledge”), from Proto-Indo-European *spend-. Displaced nati… The correct English form is spouse, spelled S-P-O-U-S-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A person in a marriage or marital relationship.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. People should treat their spouses with respect.
  2. At last such grace I found, and meanes I wrought, / That I that Ladie to my spouse had wonne

Etymology

From Middle English spous, spouse, from Anglo-Norman espus m, espuse f and Old French espos m, espose f and by aphesis from Latin spōnsus m (“bridegroom”), spōnsa f (“bride”), from spondeō (“to vow, pledge”), from Proto-Indo-European *spend-. Displaced native Old English ġemaca. Related to espouse and sponsor.

Synonyms

spousebetter halfconsorthelpmatehelpmeetmateother halfpartnerwedder

This word in other languages

cónyuge(Español)époux(Français)Gatte(Deutsch)cônjuge(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • psouse
  • sopuse
  • sposue
  • spoues
  • spousse
  • sppouse
  • spuose
  • sspouse

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of spouse - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

psouse2sopuse2sposue2spoues2spousse1sppouse1spuose2sspouse1
Edit distance from "spouse"

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 "spouse"?
"spouse" is spelled S-P-O-U-S-E. The IPA pronunciation is /spaʊ̯s/.
What does "spouse" mean?
As a noun, "spouse" means: A person in a marriage or marital relationship.
What words are commonly confused with "spouse"?
"spouse" is commonly confused with "spout", "spruce", "spouses". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "spouse"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "spouse" is /spaʊ̯s/. 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 "spouse"?
From Middle English spous, spouse, from Anglo-Norman espus m, espuse f and Old French espos m, espose f and by aphesis from Latin spōnsus m (“bridegroom”), spōnsa f (“bride”), from spondeō (“to vow, pledge”), from Proto-Indo-European *spend-. Disp... 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 "spouse", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

Toyota#7,754waking#7,760admits#7,764Reagan#7,729

Similar misspelling depth

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

Curtis8 variantsfeared8 variantsgrind8 variantsfrost8 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list