stilt
/stɪlt/
"stilt" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“stilt” is an uncommon English word, ranked #61,836 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #61,836
- frequency rank, English
- 5
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Either of two poles with footrests that allow someone to stand or walk above the ground; used mostly by entertainers.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | stilt |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /stɪlt/ |
| Letters | 5 |
| Frequency rank | #61,836 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “stilt” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for stilt is 5 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /stɪlt/. Corpus data places it at rank #61,836 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 5 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
No misspelling variants are generated for stilt in our index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English stilte, stulte, from Old English *stilte, *stylte, from Proto-Germanic *stiltijǭ, *staltijǭ, *stultijǭ (“stilt”), from Proto-Germanic *stelt- (“to be stiff”). Akin to Danish stylte, Dutch stelt, German Stelze. The correct English form is stilt, spelled S-T-I-L-T.
Definition
- 1Either of two poles with footrests that allow someone to stand or walk above the ground; used mostly by entertainers.
- 2A tall pillar or post used to support some structure; often above water.
- 3Any of various wading birds of the genera Himantopus and Cladorhynchus, related to the avocet, that have extremely long legs and long thin bills.
- 4A crutch.
- 5The handle of a plough.
Etymology
From Middle English stilte, stulte, from Old English *stilte, *stylte, from Proto-Germanic *stiltijǭ, *staltijǭ, *stultijǭ (“stilt”), from Proto-Germanic *stelt- (“to be stiff”). Akin to Danish stylte, Dutch stelt, German Stelze.
This word in other languages
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
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Using “stilt”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is S-T-I-L-T - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /stɪlt/ (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
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.