stalker

/ˈstɔːkə(ɹ)/

//ˈstɔːkə(ɹ)// noun

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

"stalker" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“stalker” has 11 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #16,136. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#16,136
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
11
tracked misspellings
18
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A person who engages in stalking, i.e., quietly approaching animals to be hunted; a tracker or guide in hunting game.

Corpus desk

Index EN-stalker · stalker · English

stalker · rank #16,136 · 11 variants · 18 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #16,136
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 18 pairs
  • VAR-MID 11 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH specialised

Nearest frequency peer: specialised (-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 “stalker”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “stalker” 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).

stalker vs stoker
71% similar
stalker vs starter
71% similar
stalker vs striker
71% similar

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

Key facts for stalker
PropertyValue
Headwordstalker
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈstɔːkə(ɹ)/
Letters7
Frequency rank#16,136
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs18
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “stalker”

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).stalkerlands 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 “specialised” (#16,135), “statistic” (#16,137), “stature” (#16,138). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “stalker” is #16,136. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 11 spelling variants around stalker (IPA /ˈstɔːkə(ɹ)/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #16,136 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 6 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for stalker, with forms such as "satlker", "sstalker", and "stakler". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 18 confusable-pair relationships, "stoker", "starter", "striker", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English stalkere, equivalent to stalk + -er. The correct English form is stalker, spelled S-T-A-L-K-E-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    A person who engages in stalking, i.e., quietly approaching animals to be hunted; a tracker or guide in hunting game.
  2. 2
    A person who secretly follows someone, sometimes with unlawful intentions.
  3. 3
    Any of various devices for removing the stalk from plants during harvesting.
  4. 4
    Any bird that walks with a stalking motion.
  5. 5
    A kind of fishing net.
  6. 6
    A horse that tends to stay just behind the leaders in a race.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. If the stalker thriller “Obsessed,” which opens on Friday, tops the box office, Clinton R. Culpepper will cement his reputation as Hollywood’s king of the schlockbuster.
  2. Ordinary people have already been face-swapped into videos for humorous or prank purposes and there is no reason to believe that abusers, harassers, stalkers, and blackmailers will not soon be face-swapping victims into compromising video as part of their arsenal.

Etymology

From Middle English stalkere, equivalent to stalk + -er.

Synonyms

trackerprowler

This word in other languages

acechador(Español)traqueur(Français)Stalker(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • satlker
  • sstalker
  • stakler
  • stalekr
  • stalkerr
  • stalkker
  • stalkre
  • stallker
  • stlaker
  • sttalker
  • tsalker

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

satlker2sstalker1stakler2stalekr2stalkerr1stalkker1stalkre2stallker1
Edit distance from "stalker"

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 "stalker"?
"stalker" is spelled S-T-A-L-K-E-R. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈstɔːkə(ɹ)/.
What does "stalker" mean?
As a noun, "stalker" means: A person who engages in stalking, i.e., quietly approaching animals to be hunted; a tracker or guide in hunting game.
What words are commonly confused with "stalker"?
"stalker" is commonly confused with "stoker", "starter", "striker". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "stalker"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "stalker" is /ˈstɔːkə(ɹ)/. 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 "stalker"?
From Middle English stalkere, equivalent to stalk + -er. 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 "stalker", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

stature#16,138steward#16,139Siberia#16,129tongues#16,150

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (11 here; floor ≥5).

stripper11 variantsshredded11 variantsswimmers11 variantsroadside11 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list