stealth

/stɛlθ/

//stɛlθ// noun

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

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

The verdict

“stealth” has 11 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #14,424. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#14,424
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
11
tracked misspellings
4
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The attribute or characteristic of acting in secrecy, or in such a way that the actions are unnoticed or difficult to detect by others.

Corpus desk

Index EN-stealth · stealth · English

stealth · rank #14,424 · 11 variants · 4 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #14,424
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 4 pairs
  • VAR-MID 11 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH Stanton

Nearest frequency peer: Stanton (-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 “stealth”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “stealth” 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).

stealth vs stealthy
88% similar
stealth vs steal
71% similar
stealth vs steals
71% similar

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

Key facts for stealth
PropertyValue
Headwordstealth
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/stɛlθ/
Letters7
Frequency rank#14,424
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs4
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “stealth”

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).stealthlands 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 “Stanton” (#14,423), “strained” (#14,425), “staffing” (#14,422). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “stealth” is #14,424. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 11 spelling variants around stealth (IPA /stɛlθ/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #14,424 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for stealth, with forms such as "setalth", "sstealth", and "staelth". 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 4 confusable-pair relationships, "stealthy", "steal", "steals", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English stelthe, from Old English stǣlþ, from Proto-Germanic *stēliþō, to Proto-Germanic *stelaną (“to steal, to sneak”) + *-iþō, equivalent to steal + -th (abstract nominal suffix). Compare Old English stalu (“theft, stealth”), Old High German … The correct English form is stealth, spelled S-T-E-A-L-T-H.

Definition

  1. 1
    The attribute or characteristic of acting in secrecy, or in such a way that the actions are unnoticed or difficult to detect by others.
  2. 2
    An act of secrecy, especially one involving thievery.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Claudio.[...] But it chances The stealth of our most mutuall entertainment With Character too grosse, is writ on Iuliet.
  2. [The King] thinks it fit[...] that restitution according to this order be made to the petitioners for stealths committed upon them last winter (273).

Etymology

From Middle English stelthe, from Old English stǣlþ, from Proto-Germanic *stēliþō, to Proto-Germanic *stelaną (“to steal, to sneak”) + *-iþō, equivalent to steal + -th (abstract nominal suffix). Compare Old English stalu (“theft, stealth”), Old High German stāla (“theft”), German Diebstahl (“theft”).

This word in other languages

sigilo(Español)furtivité(Français)Heimlichkeit(Deutsch)sorrateiro(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • setalth
  • sstealth
  • staelth
  • stealht
  • steallth
  • stealthh
  • stealtth
  • steatlh
  • stelath
  • sttealth
  • tsealth

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

setalth2sstealth1staelth2stealht2steallth1stealthh1stealtth1steatlh2
Edit distance from "stealth"

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 "stealth"?
"stealth" is spelled S-T-E-A-L-T-H. The IPA pronunciation is /stɛlθ/.
What does "stealth" mean?
As a noun, "stealth" means: The attribute or characteristic of acting in secrecy, or in such a way that the actions are unnoticed or difficult to detect by others.
What words are commonly confused with "stealth"?
"stealth" is commonly confused with "stealthy", "steal", "steals". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "stealth"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "stealth" is /stɛlθ/. 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 "stealth"?
From Middle English stelthe, from Old English stǣlþ, from Proto-Germanic *stēliþō, to Proto-Germanic *stelaną (“to steal, to sneak”) + *-iþō, equivalent to steal + -th (abstract nominal suffix). Compare Old English stalu (“theft, stealth”), Old Hi... 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 "stealth", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

Stanton#14,423Suzanne#14,429severed#14,412Serbian#14,411

Similar misspelling depth

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

staffing11 variantsTasmania11 variantsthyroid11 variantsanarchy11 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list