starter

/ˈstɑː.tə(ɹ)/

//ˈstɑː.tə(ɹ)// noun

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

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

The verdict

“starter” has 11 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #6,963. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#6,963
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
11
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Someone who starts, or who starts something.

Corpus desk

Index EN-starter · starter · English

starter · rank #6,963 · 11 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #6,963
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 11 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH stakes

Nearest frequency peer: stakes (-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 “starter”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “starter” 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).

starter vs state
71% similar
starter vs states
71% similar
starter vs stated
71% similar

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

Key facts for starter
PropertyValue
Headwordstarter
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈstɑː.tə(ɹ)/
Letters7
Frequency rank#6,963
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “starter”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).starterlands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “stakes” (#6,962), “sticking” (#6,964), “slam” (#6,961). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “starter” is #6,963. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 11 spelling variants around starter (IPA /ˈstɑː.tə(ɹ)/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #6,963 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 13 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for starter, with forms such as "satrter", "sstarter", and "staretr". 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 20 confusable-pair relationships, "state", "states", "stated", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From start + -er. The correct English form is starter, spelled S-T-A-R-T-E-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    Someone who starts, or who starts something.
  2. 2
    Someone who starts, or who starts something.
  3. 3
    Someone who starts, or who starts something.
  4. 4
    Someone who starts, or who starts something.
  5. 5
    Something that starts something.
  6. 6
    Something that starts something.
  7. 7
    Something that starts something.
  8. 8
    Something with which to begin; a first property, etc.
  9. 9
    The first course of a meal, consisting of a small, usually savoury, dish.
  10. 10
    A player in the lineup of players that a team fields at the beginning of a game.
  11. 11
    A dog that rouses game.
  12. 12
    A short length of rope formerly used for casual chastisement in the Navy.
  13. 13
    Ellipsis of starter signal.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. The most charitable view taken of them by their colleagues was that, as late starters on the journey away from their Labour past, they had not fully understood that the SDP intended to be something new and not just a Mark II Labour Party […]
  2. It's small, but it's a good starter house.

Etymology

From start + -er.

This word in other languages

motor de arranque(Español)démarreur(Français)Anlasser(Deutsch)partida(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • satrter
  • sstarter
  • staretr
  • starrter
  • starterr
  • startre
  • startter
  • statrer
  • strater
  • sttarter
  • tsarter

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

satrter2sstarter1staretr2starrter1starterr1startre2startter1statrer2
Edit distance from "starter"

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 "starter"?
"starter" is spelled S-T-A-R-T-E-R. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈstɑː.tə(ɹ)/.
What does "starter" mean?
As a noun, "starter" means: Someone who starts, or who starts something.
What words are commonly confused with "starter"?
"starter" is commonly confused with "state", "states", "stated". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "starter"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "starter" is /ˈstɑː.tə(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 "starter"?
From start + -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 "starter", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

utterly#6,974voltage#6,975praised#6,950possess#6,949

Similar misspelling depth

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

pending11 variantsaluminum11 variantsmercury11 variantsBradley11 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list