sternal

/ˈstɜː.nəl/

//ˈstɜː.nəl// adj

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

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

The verdict

“sternal” is uncommon English (frequency #89,947 among 6,566 “S” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#89,947
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Of, relating to, or near the sternum.

Corpus desk

Index EN-sternal · sternal · English

sternal · rank #89,947 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #89,947
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH stereotactic

Nearest frequency peer: stereotactic (-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.

Long-tail ranks near “sternal”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “sternal” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for sternal
PropertyValue
Headwordsternal
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈstɜː.nəl/
Letters7
Frequency rank#89,947
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “sternal” in English

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).sternalfalls in this rarity band:

#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. Rare peers in the same band: “stereotactic” (#89,946), “stereochemistry” (#89,945), “stripling” (#89,950). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “sternal” is #89,947. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

sternal is uncommon English at frequency #89,947 among 6,566 “S” headwords, classed as anadjective, transcribed /ˈstɜː.nəl/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Of, relating to, or near the sternum.".

sternal doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. Our dataset records no confusable match here, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

Etymologically, the entry records: From sternum + -al. The correct English form is sternal, spelled S-T-E-R-N-A-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    Of, relating to, or near the sternum.

Etymology

From sternum + -al.

This word in other languages

sternal(Français)

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 "sternal"?
"sternal" is spelled S-T-E-R-N-A-L. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈstɜː.nəl/.
What does "sternal" mean?
As an adjective, "sternal" means: Of, relating to, or near the sternum.
How do you pronounce "sternal"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "sternal" is /ˈstɜː.nəl/. 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 "sternal"?
From sternum + -al. 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 "sternal", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

sunland#89,961sunnies#89,962Tallman#89,974Sneddon#89,919

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list