starfish

/ˈstɑː(ɹ)fɪʃ/

//ˈstɑː(ɹ)fɪʃ// noun

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

"starfish" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“starfish” has 13 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #29,103. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#29,103
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
13
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Any of various echinoderms (not in fact fish) with usually five arms, many of which eat bivalves or corals by everting their stomach.

Corpus desk

Index EN-starfish · starfish · English

starfish · rank #29,103 · 13 variants · 1 confusable

  • FREQ-MID #29,103
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 13 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH stifle

Nearest frequency peer: stifle (+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 “starfish”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “starfish” 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).

starfish vs standish
75% similar

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

Key facts for starfish
PropertyValue
Headwordstarfish
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈstɑː(ɹ)fɪʃ/
Letters8
Frequency rank#29,103
Misspellings tracked13
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “starfish”

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).starfishlands here:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “stifle” (#29,104), “spore” (#29,101), “sphinx” (#29,100). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “starfish” is #29,103. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 13 spelling variants around starfish (IPA /ˈstɑː(ɹ)fɪʃ/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #29,103 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 13 likely wrong-spelling variants for starfish, with forms such as "satrfish", "sstarfish", and "stafrish". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "standish", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From star + fish. The correct English form is starfish, spelled S-T-A-R-F-I-S-H.

Definition

  1. 1
    Any of various echinoderms (not in fact fish) with usually five arms, many of which eat bivalves or corals by everting their stomach.
  2. 2
    Any many-armed or tentacled sea invertebrate, whether cnidarian, echinoderm, or cephalopod.
  3. 3
    A woman (or, less commonly, a gay man) who reluctantly takes part in sexual intercourse, and lies on the back while spreading the limbs.
  4. 4
    The anus.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Near-synonym: Asteroidea
  2. But the largest of the star-fish kind is that sea monster called kruken, kraken or krabben. [...] As this enormous sea-animal in all probability may be reckoned of the polype, or of the star-fish, kind, it seems that the parts which are seen rising at its pleasure, and are called arms, are properly the tentacula, or feeding instruments, called horns as we…

Etymology

From star + fish.

This word in other languages

estrella de mar(Español)étoile de mer(Français)Seestern(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • satrfish
  • sstarfish
  • stafrish
  • starffish
  • starfihs
  • starfishh
  • starfissh
  • starfsih
  • starifsh
  • starrfish
  • strafish
  • sttarfish
  • tsarfish

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

satrfish2sstarfish1stafrish2starffish1starfihs2starfishh1starfissh1starfsih2
Edit distance from "starfish"

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 "starfish"?
"starfish" is spelled S-T-A-R-F-I-S-H. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈstɑː(ɹ)fɪʃ/.
What does "starfish" mean?
As a noun, "starfish" means: Any of various echinoderms (not in fact fish) with usually five arms, many of which eat bivalves or corals by everting their stomach.
What words are commonly confused with "starfish"?
"starfish" is commonly confused with "standish". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "starfish"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "starfish" is /ˈstɑː(ɹ)fɪʃ/. 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 "starfish"?
From star + fish. 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 "starfish", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

superbly#29,107supercar#29,108soreness#29,097Snickers#29,093

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (13 here; floor ≥5).

Somerville13 variantstravesty13 variantsSalzburg13 variantstricking13 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list