stepping

/ˈstɛpɪŋ/

//ˈstɛpɪŋ// verb

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

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

The verdict

“stepping” has 11 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #7,401. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#7,401
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
11
tracked misspellings
19
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - present participle and gerund of step

Corpus desk

Index EN-stepping · stepping · English

stepping · rank #7,401 · 11 variants · 19 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #7,401
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 19 pairs
  • VAR-MID 11 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH Stanford

Nearest frequency peer: Stanford (-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 “stepping”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “stepping” 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).

stepping vs stopping
88% similar
stepping vs sterling
75% similar
stepping vs sweeping
75% similar

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

Key facts for stepping
PropertyValue
Headwordstepping
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/ˈstɛpɪŋ/
Letters8
Frequency rank#7,401
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs19
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “stepping”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).steppinglands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “Stanford” (#7,400), “spinning” (#7,399), “touches” (#7,403). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “stepping” is #7,401. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 11 spelling variants around stepping (IPA /ˈstɛpɪŋ/), averb. Corpus frequency is #7,401 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Dominant gloss: "present participle and gerund of step".

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for stepping, with forms such as "setpping", "sstepping", and "steping". 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 19 confusable-pair relationships, "stopping", "sterling", "sweeping", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English steppynge; equivalent to step + -ing. The correct English form is stepping, spelled S-T-E-P-P-I-N-G.

Definition

  1. 1
    present participle and gerund of step

Etymology

From Middle English steppynge; equivalent to step + -ing.

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • setpping
  • sstepping
  • steping
  • stepipng
  • steppign
  • steppingg
  • steppinng
  • steppnig
  • stpeping
  • sttepping
  • tsepping

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

setpping2sstepping1steping1stepipng2steppign2steppingg1steppinng1steppnig2
Edit distance from "stepping"

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 "stepping"?
"stepping" is spelled S-T-E-P-P-I-N-G. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈstɛpɪŋ/.
What does "stepping" mean?
As a verb, "stepping" means: present participle and gerund of step
What words are commonly confused with "stepping"?
"stepping" is commonly confused with "stopping", "sterling", "sweeping". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "stepping"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "stepping" is /ˈstɛpɪŋ/. 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 "stepping"?
From Middle English steppynge; equivalent to step + -ing. 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 "stepping", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

Stanford#7,400spinning#7,399township#7,404shifting#7,396

Similar misspelling depth

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

shining11 variantstravelled11 variantstwisted11 variantsseasonal11 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list