stealth

Name: stealth, English Word Data
Creator: Wiktionary
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

/stɛlθ/

//stɛlθ// noun

By PlainSpell Editorial Team · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) · analyzed May 6, 2026

The verdict

“stealth” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #14,424 in English word frequency and used as a noun.

#14,424
frequency rank, English: 7
letters: 11
tracked misspellings: 4
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 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.

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
Property	Value
Headword	stealth
Language	English
Part of speech	Noun
IPA	/stɛlθ/
Letters	7
Frequency rank	#14,424
Misspellings tracked	11
Confusable pairs	4
Source	Wiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “stealth” sits in English frequency

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

#14,424

#1#100#1K#10K#100K

← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for stealth is 7 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /stɛlθ/. Corpus data places it at rank #14,424 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

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
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
An act of secrecy, especially one involving thievery.

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.

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.

Using “stealth”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

The one correct English spelling is S-T-E-A-L-T-H - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
Say it as /stɛlθ/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
Don't mix it up with “stealthy” - see the side-by-side comparison. stealth vs stealthy
Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words

Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.