steps

/stɛps/

//stɛps// noun

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

"steps" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“steps” has 8 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #1,922. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#1,922
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
8
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - plural of step.

Corpus desk

Index EN-steps · steps · English

steps · rank #1,922 · 8 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #1,922
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 8 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH sport

Nearest frequency peer: sport (-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 “steps”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “steps” 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).

steps vs STS
0% similar
steps vs STP
0% similar
steps vs stop
60% similar

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

Key facts for steps
PropertyValue
Headwordsteps
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/stɛps/
Letters5
Frequency rank#1,922
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “steps”

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).stepslands here:

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “sport” (#1,921), “stress” (#1,923), “Spanish” (#1,920). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “steps” is #1,922. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 8 spelling variants around steps (IPA /stɛps/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #1,922 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Dominant gloss: "plural of step.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for steps, with forms such as "setps", "ssteps", and "stepps". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "STS", "STP", "stop", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

No borrowing history is documented for this entry, so its spelling is easiest to reason about phoneme by phoneme, absent a documented history. The correct English form is steps, spelled S-T-E-P-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    plural of step.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. Sunning himself on the board steps, I saw for the first time Mr. Farquhar Fenelon Cooke. He was dressed out in broad gaiters and bright tweeds, like an English tourist, and his face might have belonged to Dagon, idol of the Philistines.

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • setps
  • ssteps
  • stepps
  • stepss
  • stesp
  • stpes
  • stteps
  • tseps

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

setps2ssteps1stepps1stepss1stesp2stpes2stteps1tseps2
Edit distance from "steps"

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 "steps"?
"steps" is spelled S-T-E-P-S. The IPA pronunciation is /stɛps/.
What does "steps" mean?
As a noun, "steps" means: plural of step.
What words are commonly confused with "steps"?
"steps" is commonly confused with "STS", "STP", "stop". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "steps"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "steps" is /stɛps/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "steps" come from?
"steps" is a English word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
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 "steps", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

sport#1,921taste#1,924solid#1,919sides#1,918

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (8 here; floor ≥5).

stress8 variantsreduce8 variantsfacts8 variantsjoined8 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list