sprat

Name: sprat, English Word Data
Creator: Wiktionary
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

/spɹæt/

//spɹæt// noun

By PlainSpell · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) · analyzed May 6, 2026

The verdict

“sprat” is uncommon English (frequency #97,573 among 54,294 “S” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#97,573
frequency rank, English: 54,294
“S” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Any of various small, herring-like, marine fish in the genus Sprattus, in the family Clupeidae.

Key facts for sprat
Property	Value
Headword	sprat
Language	English
Part of speech	Noun
IPA	/spɹæt/
Letters	5
Frequency rank	#97,573
Misspellings tracked	0
Confusable pairs	0
Source	Wiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “sprat” 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). sprat lands here:

#97,573

#1#100#1K#10K#100K

← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

sprat is uncommon English at frequency #97,573 among 54,294 “S” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /spɹæt/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 4 senses are on record.

Zero misspellings are on record for sprat in our index, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English sprotte, from Old English sprot. Older source is unknown. Cognate with German Sprotte, Dutch sprot. Compare sprout. The correct English form is sprat, spelled S-P-R-A-T.

Definition

1
Any of various small, herring-like, marine fish in the genus Sprattus, in the family Clupeidae.
2
Any of various similar fish of other genera.
3
Anything petty or insignificant.
4
A sixpence.

Etymology

From Middle English sprotte, from Old English sprot. Older source is unknown. Cognate with German Sprotte, Dutch sprot. Compare sprout.

This word in other languages

espadín(Español)sprat(Français)Sprotte(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 "sprat"?

"sprat" is spelled S-P-R-A-T. The IPA pronunciation is /spɹæt/.

What does "sprat" mean?

As a noun, "sprat" means: Any of various small, herring-like, marine fish in the genus Sprattus, in the family Clupeidae.

How do you pronounce "sprat"?

The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "sprat" is /spɹæt/. 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 "sprat"?

From Middle English sprotte, from Old English sprot. Older source is unknown. Cognate with German Sprotte, Dutch sprot. Compare sprout. 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 “sprat”

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

The one correct English spelling is S-P-R-A-T - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
Say it as /spɹæt/ (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

Other uncommon English words near this rank

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.