stealing

/ˈstiːlɪŋ/

//ˈstiːlɪŋ// noun

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

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

The verdict

“stealing” has 12 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #4,897. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#4,897
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
12
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The action of the verb to steal, theft.

Corpus desk

Index EN-stealing · stealing · English

stealing · rank #4,897 · 12 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #4,897
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 12 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH sponsored

Nearest frequency peer: sponsored (-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 “stealing”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “stealing” 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).

stealing vs styling
75% similar
stealing vs sterling
88% similar
stealing vs stepping
75% similar

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

Key facts for stealing
PropertyValue
Headwordstealing
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈstiːlɪŋ/
Letters8
Frequency rank#4,897
Misspellings tracked12
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “stealing”

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).stealinglands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “sponsored” (#4,896), “strict” (#4,898), “snake” (#4,895). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “stealing” is #4,897. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 12 spelling variants around stealing (IPA /ˈstiːlɪŋ/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #4,897 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for stealing, with forms such as "setaling", "sstealing", and "staeling". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "styling", "sterling", "stepping", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

No documented word history exists for this headword, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct English form is stealing, spelled S-T-E-A-L-I-N-G.

Definition

  1. 1
    The action of the verb to steal, theft.
  2. 2
    That which is stolen; stolen property.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. The politicaster is looking for small opportunities – for such pickings and stealings as a careless public may leave for those of his kind. The great politician is looking for great opportunities.

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • setaling
  • sstealing
  • staeling
  • steailng
  • stealign
  • stealingg
  • stealinng
  • stealling
  • stealnig
  • stelaing
  • sttealing
  • tsealing

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

setaling2sstealing1staeling2steailng2stealign2stealingg1stealinng1stealling1
Edit distance from "stealing"

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 "stealing"?
"stealing" is spelled S-T-E-A-L-I-N-G. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈstiːlɪŋ/.
What does "stealing" mean?
As a noun, "stealing" means: The action of the verb to steal, theft.
What words are commonly confused with "stealing"?
"stealing" is commonly confused with "styling", "sterling", "stepping". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "stealing"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "stealing" is /ˈstiːlɪŋ/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "stealing" come from?
"stealing" is a English word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
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 "stealing", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

settings#4,893syndrome#4,903quarters#4,881Margaret#4,872

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (12 here; floor ≥5).

cancelled12 variantsCharlotte12 variantsinvasion12 variantsemployer12 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list