stethoscope
/ˈstɛθəskəʊp/
"stethoscope" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“stethoscope” has 17 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #43,940. The variants make it a useful spelling check.
- #43,940
- frequency rank, English
- 54,294
- “S” headwords
- 17
- tracked misspellings
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A medical instrument used for listening to sounds produced within the body.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | stethoscope |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈstɛθəskəʊp/ |
| Letters | 11 |
| Frequency rank | #43,940 |
| Misspellings tracked | 17 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “stethoscope” sits in English frequency
A misspelling magnet
The generator records 17 spelling variants around stethoscope (IPA /ˈstɛθəskəʊp/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #43,940 among 54,294 “S” headwords. Dominant gloss: "A medical instrument used for listening to sounds produced within the body.".
Our generated misspelling index lists 17 likely wrong-spelling variants for stethoscope, with forms such as "setthoscope", "sstethoscope", and "stehtoscope". 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. 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: Borrowed from French stéthoscope, a word coined by its inventor, physician René Laennec, equivalent to stetho- + -scope. The correct English form is stethoscope, spelled S-T-E-T-H-O-S-C-O-P-E.
Definition
- 1A medical instrument used for listening to sounds produced within the body.
Etymology
Borrowed from French stéthoscope, a word coined by its inventor, physician René Laennec, equivalent to stetho- + -scope.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as:
- setthoscope
- sstethoscope
- stehtoscope
- stethhoscope
- stethocsope
- stethosccope
- stethoscoep
- stethoscoppe
- stethoscpoe
- stethosocpe
- stethosscope
- stethsocope
- stetohscope
- stetthoscope
- sttehoscope
- sttethoscope
- tsethoscope
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of stethoscope - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.
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 "stethoscope"?
What does "stethoscope" mean?
What are common misspellings of "stethoscope"?
How do you pronounce "stethoscope"?
What is the origin of the word "stethoscope"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “stethoscope”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is S-T-E-T-H-O-S-C-O-P-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈstɛθəskəʊp/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Same frequency band
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.