stirrup

/ˈstɪ.ɹəp/

//ˈstɪ.ɹəp// noun

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

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

The verdict

“stirrup” is uncommon English (frequency #57,101 among 6,566 “S” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#57,101
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A ring or hoop suspended by a rope or strap from the saddle, for a horseman's foot while mounting or riding.

Corpus desk

Index EN-stirrup · stirrup · English

stirrup · rank #57,101 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #57,101
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH Stockdale

Nearest frequency peer: Stockdale (+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 “stirrup”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for stirrup
PropertyValue
Headwordstirrup
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈstɪ.ɹəp/
Letters7
Frequency rank#57,101
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “stirrup” 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).stirrupfalls 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: “Stockdale” (#57,102), “stinker” (#57,099), “strangler” (#57,103). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “stirrup” is #57,101. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

stirrup is uncommon English at frequency #57,101 among 6,566 “S” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈstɪ.ɹəp/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 6 senses are on record.

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for stirrup, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English stirop, stirope, from Old English stiġrāp (“stirrup”), a compound of stiġe ("ascent, descent, a going up or down"; related to stīġan (“to climb”)) and rāp (“rope”), equivalent to sty + rope. Cognate with Dutch stegereep, stegelreep (“sti… The correct English form is stirrup, spelled S-T-I-R-R-U-P.

Definition

  1. 1
    A ring or hoop suspended by a rope or strap from the saddle, for a horseman's foot while mounting or riding.
  2. 2
    Any piece shaped like the stirrup of a saddle, used as a support, clamp, etc.
  3. 3
    Any piece shaped like the stirrup of a saddle, used as a support, clamp, etc.
  4. 4
    A stapes.
  5. 5
    A rope secured to a yard, with a thimble in its lower end for supporting a footrope.
  6. 6
    A bent rebar wrapped around the main rebars to reinforce against shear stress.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. With what different feelings did he now put foot in stirrup to the last time when he sprung to horse?
  2. Sunning himself on the board steps, I saw for the first time Mr. Farquhar Fenelon Cooke.[…]A silver snaffle on a heavy leather watch guard which connected the pockets of his corduroy waistcoat, together with a huge gold stirrup in his Ascot tie, sufficiently proclaimed his tastes.

Etymology

From Middle English stirop, stirope, from Old English stiġrāp (“stirrup”), a compound of stiġe ("ascent, descent, a going up or down"; related to stīġan (“to climb”)) and rāp (“rope”), equivalent to sty + rope. Cognate with Dutch stegereep, stegelreep (“stirrup”), Old Saxon stigerēp (“stirrup”), Middle High German stereip, stegreif ("stirrup"; > German Stegreif (“improvisation”)), Icelandic stigreip (“stirrup”).

This word in other languages

estribo(Español)étrier(Français)Steigbügel(Deutsch)estribo(Português)

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 "stirrup"?
"stirrup" is spelled S-T-I-R-R-U-P. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈstɪ.ɹəp/.
What does "stirrup" mean?
As a noun, "stirrup" means: A ring or hoop suspended by a rope or strap from the saddle, for a horseman's foot while mounting or riding.
How do you pronounce "stirrup"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "stirrup" is /ˈstɪ.ɹəp/. 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 "stirrup"?
From Middle English stirop, stirope, from Old English stiġrāp (“stirrup”), a compound of stiġe ("ascent, descent, a going up or down"; related to stīġan (“to climb”)) and rāp (“rope”), equivalent to sty + rope. Cognate with Dutch stegereep, stegel... 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 "stirrup", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

stinker#57,099tabular#57,118skimmer#57,076shylock#57,070

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list