starboard

/ˈstɑː.bəd/

//ˈstɑː.bəd// noun

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

"starboard" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“starboard” has 14 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #23,404. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#23,404
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
14
tracked misspellings
2
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The righthand side of a ship, boat or aircraft when facing the front, or fore or bow. Used to unambiguously refer to directions according to the sides of the vessel, rather than those of a crew mem...

Corpus desk

Index EN-starboard · starboard · English

starboard · rank #23,404 · 14 variants · 2 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #23,404
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 2 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 14 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH specifying

Nearest frequency peer: specifying (-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 “starboard”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “starboard” 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).

starboard vs storyboard
80% similar
starboard vs seaboard
78% similar

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

Key facts for starboard
PropertyValue
Headwordstarboard
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈstɑː.bəd/
Letters9
Frequency rank#23,404
Misspellings tracked14
Confusable pairs2
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “starboard”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).starboardlands 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 “specifying” (#23,403), “stardust” (#23,405), “stereotypical” (#23,406). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “starboard” is #23,404. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 14 spelling variants around starboard (IPA /ˈstɑː.bəd/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #23,404 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 14 likely wrong-spelling variants for starboard, with forms such as "satrboard", "sstarboard", and "stabroard". 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 2 confusable-pair relationships, "storyboard", "seaboard", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English sterbord, stere-bourd, stere-burd, from Old English stēorbord, from Proto-West Germanic *steurubord, equivalent to steer + board (“side (of a ship)”), referring to ancient ships with the steering oar set to the right (to accommodate righ… The correct English form is starboard, spelled S-T-A-R-B-O-A-R-D.

Definition

  1. 1
    The righthand side of a ship, boat or aircraft when facing the front, or fore or bow. Used to unambiguously refer to directions according to the sides of the vessel, rather than those of a crew member or object.
  2. 2
    One of the two traditional watches aboard a ship standing a watch in two.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. I see another vessel off the starboard side.
  2. We're on starboard tack, so the other boat has to give way.

Etymology

From Middle English sterbord, stere-bourd, stere-burd, from Old English stēorbord, from Proto-West Germanic *steurubord, equivalent to steer + board (“side (of a ship)”), referring to ancient ships with the steering oar set to the right (to accommodate right-handed crew). Ships had to dock on their left (port) side because the steering oar on the right would get in the way, which is how the left became known as the port side.

This word in other languages

estribor(Español)tribord(Français)Steuerbord(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • satrboard
  • sstarboard
  • stabroard
  • starbaord
  • starbboard
  • starboadr
  • starboardd
  • starboarrd
  • starborad
  • starobard
  • starrboard
  • straboard
  • sttarboard
  • tsarboard

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of starboard - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

satrboard2sstarboard1stabroard2starbaord2starbboard1starboadr2starboardd1starboarrd1
Edit distance from "starboard"

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 "starboard"?
"starboard" is spelled S-T-A-R-B-O-A-R-D. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈstɑː.bəd/.
What does "starboard" mean?
As a noun, "starboard" means: The righthand side of a ship, boat or aircraft when facing the front, or fore or bow. Used to unambiguously refer to directions according to the sides of the vessel, rather than those of a crew mem...
What words are commonly confused with "starboard"?
"starboard" is commonly confused with "storyboard", "seaboard". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "starboard"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "starboard" is /ˈstɑː.bəd/. 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 "starboard"?
From Middle English sterbord, stere-bourd, stere-burd, from Old English stēorbord, from Proto-West Germanic *steurubord, equivalent to steer + board (“side (of a ship)”), referring to ancient ships with the steering oar set to the right (to accomm... 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 "starboard", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

stupidest#23,408uncharted#23,421upholding#23,425reconnect#23,376

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (14 here; floor ≥5).

surpassing14 variantsunforeseen14 variantsalienation14 variantsmiserably14 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list