staple

/ˈsteɪ.pəl/

//ˈsteɪ.pəl// noun

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

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

The verdict

“staple” has 9 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #11,611. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#11,611
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
9
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A town containing merchants who have exclusive right, under royal authority, to purchase or produce certain goods for export; also, the body of such merchants seen as a group.

Corpus desk

Index EN-staple · staple · English

staple · rank #11,611 · 9 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #11,611
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 9 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH speeding

Nearest frequency peer: speeding (-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 “staple”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “staple” 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).

staple vs state
67% similar
staple vs style
67% similar
staple vs stole
67% similar

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

Key facts for staple
PropertyValue
Headwordstaple
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈsteɪ.pəl/
Letters6
Frequency rank#11,611
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “staple”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).staplelands 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 “speeding” (#11,610), “smoothly” (#11,609), “sleepy” (#11,608). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “staple” is #11,611. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 9 spelling variants around staple (IPA /ˈsteɪ.pəl/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #11,611 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 8 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for staple, with forms such as "satple", "sstaple", and "stalpe". 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 20 confusable-pair relationships, "state", "style", "stole", 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 staple, from Anglo-Norman estaple, Old French estaple (“market, (trading) post”), from Late Latin stapula, from Frankish *stapul, ultimately from Proto-Germanic *stapulaz (“post”), from Proto-Indo-European *stebʰ- (“post, stem”). Compare… The correct English form is staple, spelled S-T-A-P-L-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A town containing merchants who have exclusive right, under royal authority, to purchase or produce certain goods for export; also, the body of such merchants seen as a group.
  2. 2
    Place of supply; source.
  3. 3
    The principal commodity produced in a town or region.
  4. 4
    A basic or essential supply.
  5. 5
    A recurring topic, character, or item.
  6. 6
    Short fiber, as of cotton, sheep’s wool, or the like, which can be spun into yarn or thread.
  7. 7
    Unmanufactured material; raw material.
  8. 8
    a type of two-pronged fastener, usually metal, used for joining, gathering, or binding materials together.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. The customs of Alexandria were very great, it having been the staple of the Indian trade.
  2. For the increase of trade and the encouragement of the worthy burgesses of Woodstock, her majesty was minded to erect the town into a staple for wool.

Etymology

From Middle English staple, from Anglo-Norman estaple, Old French estaple (“market, (trading) post”), from Late Latin stapula, from Frankish *stapul, ultimately from Proto-Germanic *stapulaz (“post”), from Proto-Indo-European *stebʰ- (“post, stem”). Compare staff. Doublet of étape and etymology 2.

This word in other languages

aliment de base(Français)Ausgangsmaterial(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • satple
  • sstaple
  • stalpe
  • stapel
  • staplle
  • stapple
  • stpale
  • sttaple
  • tsaple

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of staple - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

satple2sstaple1stalpe2stapel2staplle1stapple1stpale2sttaple1
Edit distance from "staple"

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 "staple"?
"staple" is spelled S-T-A-P-L-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈsteɪ.pəl/.
What does "staple" mean?
As a noun, "staple" means: A town containing merchants who have exclusive right, under royal authority, to purchase or produce certain goods for export; also, the body of such merchants seen as a group.
What words are commonly confused with "staple"?
"staple" is commonly confused with "state", "style", "stole". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "staple"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "staple" is /ˈsteɪ.pəl/. 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 "staple"?
From Middle English staple, from Anglo-Norman estaple, Old French estaple (“market, (trading) post”), from Late Latin stapula, from Frankish *stapul, ultimately from Proto-Germanic *stapulaz (“post”), from Proto-Indo-European *stebʰ- (“post, stem”... 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 "staple", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

sleepy#11,608strand#11,615revive#11,596urging#11,632

Similar misspelling depth

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

stunned9 variantsransom9 variantsadvent9 variantsbakery9 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list