stead

/stɛd/

//stɛd// noun

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

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

The verdict

“stead” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #22,826. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#22,826
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
7
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The position or function (of someone or something), as taken on by a successor.

Corpus desk

Index EN-stead · stead · English

stead · rank #22,826 · 7 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #22,826
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 7 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH stagnation

Nearest frequency peer: stagnation (-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 “stead”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “stead” 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).

stead vs stem
60% similar
stead vs sued
60% similar
stead vs stud
60% similar

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

Key facts for stead
PropertyValue
Headwordstead
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/stɛd/
Letters5
Frequency rank#22,826
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “stead”

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

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “stagnation” (#22,825), “stinks” (#22,827), “sprite” (#22,824). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “stead” is #22,826. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 7 spelling variants around stead (IPA /stɛd/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #22,826 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 9 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for stead, with forms such as "setad", "sstead", and "staed". 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, "stem", "sued", "stud", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English sted, stede (noun) and steden (verb), from Old English stede, from Proto-Germanic *stadiz (“place”), from Proto-Indo-European *stéh₂tis (“standing, location”). Doublet of stad. cognates and related terms Cognate with Scots steid (“locati… The correct English form is stead, spelled S-T-E-A-D.

Definition

  1. 1
    The position or function (of someone or something), as taken on by a successor.
  2. 2
    A place as it relates to a role, service, or ability; capacity.
  3. 3
    A relational or circumstantial position; standing.
  4. 4
    A place as it relates to situation, circumstance, or status; condition.
  5. 5
    A place, or spot, in general; location.
  6. 6
    A place where a person normally rests; a seat.
  7. 7
    An inhabited place; a settlement, city, town etc.
  8. 8
    An estate, a property with its grounds; a farm; a homestead.
  9. 9
    The frame on which a bed is laid; a bedstead.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. She was so wretched and so vehement, complained so much of injustice in being expected to go away instead of Anne; Anne, who was nothing to Louisa, while she was her sister, and had the best right to stay in Henrietta's stead!
  2. His nurse had told him all about changelings, and how the little people would always try to steal a beautiful human child out of its cradle and put in its stead one of their own ailing, puking brats […]

Etymology

From Middle English sted, stede (noun) and steden (verb), from Old English stede, from Proto-Germanic *stadiz (“place”), from Proto-Indo-European *stéh₂tis (“standing, location”). Doublet of stad. cognates and related terms Cognate with Scots steid (“location, place”), North Frisian Stair, Stat, steed, stää (“city, town; place, stead”), Saterland Frisian Steede (“place, stead”), Stääd (“city, town”), West Frisian stêd (“city, town”), Bavarian Stådt (“city, town”), Dutch stad, stede (“city, town”), German Stadt (“city, town”), Statt (“abode, place, stead”), Stätte (“place, spot, venue”), German Low German Stee (“location, place”), Luxembourgish Stad (“city, town”), Vilamovian śtaod (“city, town”), Yiddish שטאָט (shtot, “city, town”), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål stad (“city, town”), sted (“place”), Faroese stað (“place”), staður (“location, place; town”), Icelandic staður (“location, place”), Norn sta (“domicile, farm”), Norwegian Nynorsk stad (“place; city, town”), Swedish stad, stadh, stedt (“city, town”), Gothic 𐍃𐍄𐌰𐌸𐍃 (staþs, “location, place”). See the doublet stasis.

This word in other languages

lugar(Español)lieu(Français)Stätte(Deutsch)local(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • setad
  • sstead
  • staed
  • steadd
  • steda
  • sttead
  • tsead

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

setad2sstead1staed2steadd1steda2sttead1tsead2
Edit distance from "stead"

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 "stead"?
"stead" is spelled S-T-E-A-D. The IPA pronunciation is /stɛd/.
What does "stead" mean?
As a noun, "stead" means: The position or function (of someone or something), as taken on by a successor.
What words are commonly confused with "stead"?
"stead" is commonly confused with "stem", "sued", "stud". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "stead"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "stead" is /stɛd/. 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 "stead"?
From Middle English sted, stede (noun) and steden (verb), from Old English stede, from Proto-Germanic *stadiz (“place”), from Proto-Indo-European *stéh₂tis (“standing, location”). Doublet of stad. cognates and related terms Cognate with Scots stei... 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 "stead", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

sluts#22,815shrub#22,810why'd#22,864Yukon#22,866

Similar misspelling depth

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

ragged7 variantsraffle7 variantsplume7 variantsAlton7 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list