stile

/staɪl/

//staɪl// noun

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

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

The verdict

“stile” is uncommon English (frequency #60,491 among 6,566 “S” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#60,491
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A set of one or more steps surmounting a fence or wall, or a narrow gate or contrived passage through a fence or wall, which in either case allows people but not livestock to pass.

Corpus desk

Index EN-stile · stile · English

stile · rank #60,491 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #60,491
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH stigmata

Nearest frequency peer: stigmata (-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 “stile”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for stile
PropertyValue
Headwordstile
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/staɪl/
Letters5
Frequency rank#60,491
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “stile” 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).stilefalls in this rarity band:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Rare peers in the same band: “stigmata” (#60,490), “stratagem” (#60,492), “striated” (#60,493). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “stile” is #60,491. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

stile is uncommon English at frequency #60,491 among 6,566 “S” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /staɪl/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

stile doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English stile, style, stiȝele, from Old English stiġel (“stile, set of steps for getting over a fence”), from Proto-West Germanic *stigilu, from Proto-Germanic *stigilō (“entry, entrance, overpass, device for climbing, stile”), equivalent to sty… The correct English form is stile, spelled S-T-I-L-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A set of one or more steps surmounting a fence or wall, or a narrow gate or contrived passage through a fence or wall, which in either case allows people but not livestock to pass.
  2. 2
    A vertical component of a frame or panel, such as that of a door, window, or ladder.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. 'Twas very true what Greening said; for of a summer evening I would take the path that led up Weatherbeech Hill, behind the Manor; both because 'twas a walk that had a good prospect in itself, and also a sweet charm for me, namely, the hope of seeing Grace Maskew. And there I often sat upon the stile that ends the path and opens on the down, and watched t…

Etymology

From Middle English stile, style, stiȝele, from Old English stiġel (“stile, set of steps for getting over a fence”), from Proto-West Germanic *stigilu, from Proto-Germanic *stigilō (“entry, entrance, overpass, device for climbing, stile”), equivalent to sty (“to ascend, climb”) + -le. Cognate with Dutch stegel (“stirrup”), Low German Stegel (“stile”), German Stiegel (“stile”).

This word in other languages

montante(Español)échalier(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 "stile"?
"stile" is spelled S-T-I-L-E. The IPA pronunciation is /staɪl/.
What does "stile" mean?
As a noun, "stile" means: A set of one or more steps surmounting a fence or wall, or a narrow gate or contrived passage through a fence or wall, which in either case allows people but not livestock to pass.
How do you pronounce "stile"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "stile" is /staɪl/. 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 "stile"?
From Middle English stile, style, stiȝele, from Old English stiġel (“stile, set of steps for getting over a fence”), from Proto-West Germanic *stigilu, from Proto-Germanic *stigilō (“entry, entrance, overpass, device for climbing, stile”), equival... 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 "stile", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

stunk#60,495Staal#60,483smoot#60,476Shima#60,462

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list