stabby

/ˈstæbi/

//ˈstæbi// adj

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

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

The verdict

“stabby” is uncommon English (frequency #98,747 among 6,566 “S” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#98,747
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - having one or more sharp points

Corpus desk

Index EN-stabby · stabby · English

stabby · rank #98,747 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #98,747
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH squab

Nearest frequency peer: squab (-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.

Long-tail ranks near “stabby”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “stabby” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for stabby
PropertyValue
Headwordstabby
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈstæbi/
Letters6
Frequency rank#98,747
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “stabby” in English

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).stabbyfalls in this rarity band:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “squab” (#98,746), “Standley” (#98,748), “spherically” (#98,744). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “stabby” is #98,747. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

stabby is uncommon English at frequency #98,747 among 6,566 “S” headwords, classed as anadjective, transcribed /ˈstæbi/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 8 senses are on record.

stabby doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: From stab + -y. The correct English form is stabby, spelled S-T-A-B-B-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    having one or more sharp points
  2. 2
    quick and thrusting
  3. 3
    sudden and acute
  4. 4
    staccato
  5. 5
    penetrating and hostile
  6. 6
    acting in a violent and/or deranged manner
  7. 7
    prone to commit an act of stabbing
  8. 8
    angry or irritated

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. At any rate there flourished by the curbing, sure enough, a wide and very stabby cactus garden, extending Tartar hospitality.
  2. The crowd hates the picadors who deprive the bull of its first energy to fight. The picador is fat. He's got a long pole with a stabby thing on the end. His horse is blinded in cloth. His horse is old on its last legs.

Etymology

From stab + -y.

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 "stabby"?
"stabby" is spelled S-T-A-B-B-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈstæbi/.
What does "stabby" mean?
As an adjective, "stabby" means: having one or more sharp points
How do you pronounce "stabby"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "stabby" is /ˈstæbi/. 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 "stabby"?
From stab + -y. 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 "stabby", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

strawn#98,760Tanith#98,781Timaru#98,804Tomita#98,808

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list