stave

/steɪv/

//steɪv// noun

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

"stave" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“stave” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #27,656. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#27,656
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
7
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - One of a number of narrow strips of wood, or narrow iron plates, placed edge to edge to form the sides, covering, or lining of a vessel or structure; especially, one of the strips which form the si...

Corpus desk

Index EN-stave · stave · English

stave · rank #27,656 · 7 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #27,656
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 7 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH stalemate

Nearest frequency peer: stalemate (-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 “stave”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “stave” 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).

stave vs stay
60% similar
stave vs style
60% similar
stave vs store
60% similar

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

Key facts for stave
PropertyValue
Headwordstave
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/steɪv/
Letters5
Frequency rank#27,656
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “stave”

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).stavelands 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 “stalemate” (#27,655), “Stephan” (#27,657), “squishy” (#27,654). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “stave” is #27,656. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 7 spelling variants around stave (IPA /steɪv/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #27,656 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 7 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for stave, with forms such as "satve", "sstave", and "staev". 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, "stay", "style", "store", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: Back-formation from staves, the plural of staff. The correct English form is stave, spelled S-T-A-V-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    One of a number of narrow strips of wood, or narrow iron plates, placed edge to edge to form the sides, covering, or lining of a vessel or structure; especially, one of the strips which form the sides of a cask, barrel, pail, etc.
  2. 2
    One of the bars or rounds of a rack, rungs of a ladder, etc; one of the cylindrical bars of a lantern wheel
  3. 3
    A metrical portion; a stanza; a staff.
  4. 4
    The set of five horizontal and parallel lines on and between which musical notes are written or pointed; the staff.
  5. 5
    The initial consonant, consonant cluster, or vowel of a word which rhymes with another word with the same consonant or vowel in stave-rhyme.
  6. 6
    A sign, symbol or sigil, including rune or rune-like characters, used in Icelandic magic.
  7. 7
    A staff or walking stick.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. For the Cherubims ſpread foorth their wings ouer the place of the Arke, and the Cherubims couered the Arke and the ſtaues thereof, aboue.
  2. Let us chaunt a passing stave / In honour of that hero brave.

Etymology

Back-formation from staves, the plural of staff.

This word in other languages

duela(Español)douve(Français)Daube(Deutsch)aduela(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • satve
  • sstave
  • staev
  • stavve
  • sttave
  • stvae
  • tsave

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

satve2sstave1staev2stavve1sttave1stvae2tsave2
Edit distance from "stave"

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 "stave"?
"stave" is spelled S-T-A-V-E. The IPA pronunciation is /steɪv/.
What does "stave" mean?
As a noun, "stave" means: One of a number of narrow strips of wood, or narrow iron plates, placed edge to edge to form the sides, covering, or lining of a vessel or structure; especially, one of the strips which form the si...
What words are commonly confused with "stave"?
"stave" is commonly confused with "stay", "style", "store". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "stave"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "stave" is /steɪv/. 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 "stave"?
Back-formation from staves, the plural of staff. 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 "stave", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Sochi#27,650snipe#27,648Smyth#27,646smirk#27,644

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (7 here; floor ≥5).

swami7 variantstrove7 variantsRambo7 variantspetal7 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list