stead
/stɛd/noun
stead is spelled S-T-E-A-D: 5 letters and one syllable. It appears 1.5 times per million words in written English, the 22,651st most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, stead means “The position or function (of someone or something), as taken on by a successor” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of stead is steads.
How many letters and syllables are in stead?
| Letters | 5: S-T-E-A-D |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.5 times per million words; the 22,651st most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is stead?
Stead appears 1.5 times per million words in written English, the 22,651st most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce stead?
- /stɛd/
Stead has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-stead.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with stead?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as stead.
Spelled with the same letters in another order: stade, sated.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of stead
- steads plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- steading participle, present
- steaded participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does stead mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The position or function (of someone or something), as taken on by a successor.
- 2
A place as it relates to a role, service, or ability; capacity.
- 3
A relational or circumstantial position; standing.
- 4
A place as it relates to situation, circumstance, or status; condition.
- 5
archaicA place, or spot, in general; location.
- 6
obsoleteA place where a person normally rests; a seat.
- 7
obsoleteAn inhabited place; a settlement, city, town etc.
- 8
archaicAn estate, a property with its grounds; a farm; a homestead.
- 9
colloquialOne's partner in a romantic relationship.
verb
- 1
obsoleteTo help, support, benefit or assist; to be helpful.
- 2
obsoleteTo fill the stead or place of something.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Stead in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does stead come from?
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.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).