stewardess

/ˈstu.ɚ.dɪs/

//ˈstu.ɚ.dɪs// noun

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

"stewardess" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“stewardess” has 14 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #46,194. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#46,194
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
14
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A female flight attendant (a member of the crew of an airplane who is responsible for the comfort and safety of its passengers).

Corpus desk

Index EN-stewardess · stewardess · English

stewardess · rank #46,194 · 14 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #46,194
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 14 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH sterilize

Nearest frequency peer: sterilize (-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 “stewardess”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “stewardess” 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
Key facts for stewardess
PropertyValue
Headwordstewardess
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈstu.ɚ.dɪs/
Letters10
Frequency rank#46,194
Misspellings tracked14
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “stewardess”

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).stewardesslands here:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “sterilize” (#46,193), “stockholder” (#46,195), “spongy” (#46,191). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “stewardess” is #46,194. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 14 spelling variants around stewardess (IPA /ˈstu.ɚ.dɪs/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #46,194 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 14 likely wrong-spelling variants for stewardess, with forms such as "setwardess", "sstewardess", and "steawrdess". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. Our dataset records no confusable match here, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

Etymologically, the entry records: From steward + -ess (feminine suffix). The correct English form is stewardess, spelled S-T-E-W-A-R-D-E-S-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    A female flight attendant (a member of the crew of an airplane who is responsible for the comfort and safety of its passengers).
  2. 2
    A woman who works at housekeeping and passenger service aboard a ship, yacht, or other type of boat that carries passengers.
  3. 3
    A female steward (any sense).

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. She usually rang for the stewardess early, but this morning of course there had been no ring. The stewardess had gone in all the same about eight o'clock and found the cabin empty.
  2. Certainly a stewardess who may have fifty or even a hundred passengers to look after cannot give much attention to nursing, even if she knows how.

Etymology

From steward + -ess (feminine suffix).

Synonyms

air-girlair hostessairline stewardessair stewardesscart tartflight hostessflight stewardesshostiesky girlsky waitresstrolley dolly

This word in other languages

aeromoza(Español)hôtesse de l'air(Français)Flugbegleiterin(Deutsch)aeromoça(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • setwardess
  • sstewardess
  • steawrdess
  • stewadress
  • stewarddess
  • stewardes
  • stewardses
  • stewaredss
  • stewarrdess
  • stewradess
  • stewwardess
  • sttewardess
  • stweardess
  • tsewardess

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of stewardess - 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.

setwardess2sstewardess1steawrdess2stewadress2stewarddess1stewardes1stewardses2stewaredss2
Edit distance from "stewardess"

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 "stewardess"?
"stewardess" is spelled S-T-E-W-A-R-D-E-S-S. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈstu.ɚ.dɪs/.
What does "stewardess" mean?
As a noun, "stewardess" means: A female flight attendant (a member of the crew of an airplane who is responsible for the comfort and safety of its passengers).
What are common misspellings of "stewardess"?
Common misspellings include "setwardess", "sstewardess", "steawrdess", "stewadress", "stewarddess". The correct spelling is "stewardess".
How do you pronounce "stewardess"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "stewardess" is /ˈstu.ɚ.dɪs/. 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 "stewardess"?
From steward + -ess (feminine suffix). 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 "stewardess", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 10 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

storyboard#46,197smattering#46,183shuddering#46,177scribbling#46,165

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (14 here; floor ≥5).

taskforce14 variantstimestamp14 variantstradesman14 variantsunderclass14 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list