sprain

/spɹeɪn/

//spɹeɪn// verb

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

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

The verdict

“sprain” has 9 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #35,092. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#35,092
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
9
tracked misspellings
18
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To weaken, as a joint, ligament, or muscle, by sudden and excessive exertion, as by wrenching; to overstrain, or stretch injuriously, but without luxation

Corpus desk

Index EN-sprain · sprain · English

sprain · rank #35,092 · 9 variants · 18 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #35,092
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 18 pairs
  • VAR-MID 9 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH spontaneity

Nearest frequency peer: spontaneity (-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 “sprain”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “sprain” 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).

sprain vs spray
67% similar
sprain vs stain
67% similar
sprain vs swain
67% similar

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

Key facts for sprain
PropertyValue
Headwordsprain
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/spɹeɪn/
Letters6
Frequency rank#35,092
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs18
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “sprain”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).sprainlands 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 “spontaneity” (#35,091), “sss” (#35,094), “Sparky” (#35,089). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “sprain” is #35,092. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 9 spelling variants around sprain (IPA /spɹeɪn/), averb. Corpus frequency is #35,092 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Dominant gloss: "To weaken, as a joint, ligament, or muscle, by sudden and excessive exertion, as by wrenching; to overstrain, or stretch injuriously, but without luxation".

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for sprain, with forms such as "psrain", "sparin", and "spprain". 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 18 confusable-pair relationships, "spray", "stain", "swain", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: 1601, verb attested 1622. Possibly borrowed from Middle French espraindre (“to press out, to wring”), from Latin exprimere, in which case cognate to express. The correct English form is sprain, spelled S-P-R-A-I-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    To weaken, as a joint, ligament, or muscle, by sudden and excessive exertion, as by wrenching; to overstrain, or stretch injuriously, but without luxation

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. He sprained his knee after falling off the bicycle.
  2. Hi! I suppose you're expecting the Roadrunner! Well, he sprained a giblet cornering a sharp coive the other day, uh, so, uh, I'm standing in for him.

Etymology

1601, verb attested 1622. Possibly borrowed from Middle French espraindre (“to press out, to wring”), from Latin exprimere, in which case cognate to express.

Synonyms

teartwistwrench

This word in other languages

torcer(Español)se fouler(Français)verstauchen(Deutsch)torcer(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • psrain
  • sparin
  • spprain
  • sprainn
  • sprani
  • sprian
  • sprrain
  • srpain
  • ssprain

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

psrain2sparin2spprain1sprainn1sprani2sprian2sprrain1srpain2
Edit distance from "sprain"

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 "sprain"?
"sprain" is spelled S-P-R-A-I-N. The IPA pronunciation is /spɹeɪn/.
What does "sprain" mean?
As a verb, "sprain" means: To weaken, as a joint, ligament, or muscle, by sudden and excessive exertion, as by wrenching; to overstrain, or stretch injuriously, but without luxation
What words are commonly confused with "sprain"?
"sprain" is commonly confused with "spray", "stain", "swain". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "sprain"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "sprain" is /spɹeɪn/. 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 "sprain"?
1601, verb attested 1622. Possibly borrowed from Middle French espraindre (“to press out, to wring”), from Latin exprimere, in which case cognate to express. 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 "sprain", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

Sparky#35,089Tasman#35,108Shasta#35,075sanger#35,061

Similar misspelling depth

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

Rodger9 variantsramble9 variantspuking9 variantspotters9 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list