stitch

/stɪt͡ʃ/

//stɪt͡ʃ// noun

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

"stitch" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“stitch” has 10 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #12,334. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#12,334
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
10
tracked misspellings
14
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A single pass of a needle in sewing; the loop or turn of the thread thus made.

Corpus desk

Index EN-stitch · stitch · English

stitch · rank #12,334 · 10 variants · 14 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #12,334
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-MID 14 pairs
  • VAR-MID 10 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH substrate

Nearest frequency peer: substrate (+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 “stitch”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “stitch” 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

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

stitch vs switch
83% similar
stitch vs swatch
67% similar
stitch vs stretch
71% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for stitch
PropertyValue
Headwordstitch
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/stɪt͡ʃ/
Letters6
Frequency rank#12,334
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs14
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “stitch”

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).stitchlands here:

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “substrate” (#12,335), “stalking” (#12,332), “sultan” (#12,336). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “stitch” is #12,334. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 10 spelling variants around stitch (IPA /stɪt͡ʃ/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #12,334 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 14 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for stitch, with forms such as "sittch", "sstitch", and "sticth". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 14 confusable-pair relationships, "switch", "swatch", "stretch", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English stiche, from Old English stiċe (“a prick, puncture, stab, thrust with a pointed implement, pricking sensation, stitch, pain in the side, sting”), from Proto-West Germanic *stiki, from Proto-Germanic *stikiz (“prick, piercing, stitch”), f… The correct English form is stitch, spelled S-T-I-T-C-H.

Definition

  1. 1
    A single pass of a needle in sewing; the loop or turn of the thread thus made.
  2. 2
    A single pass of a needle in sewing; the loop or turn of the thread thus made.
  3. 3
    An arrangement of stitches in sewing, or method of stitching in some particular way or style.
  4. 4
    An intense stabbing pain under the lower edge of the ribcage, brought on by exercise or laughing.
  5. 5
    A local sharp pain (anywhere); an acute pain, like the piercing of a needle.
  6. 6
    A single turn of the thread round a needle in knitting; a link, or loop, of yarn
  7. 7
    An arrangement of stitches in knitting, or method of knitting in some particular way or style.
  8. 8
    A space of work taken up, or gone over, in a single pass of the needle.
  9. 9
    A fastening, as of thread or wire, through the back of a book to connect the pages.
  10. 10
    Any space passed over; distance.
  11. 11
    Any least part of a fabric or clothing.
  12. 12
    An incorporation of an existing video into a new one, resulting in a collaborative clip that shows the two videos in a sequence.
  13. 13
    A ridge of ploughed land between two furrows.
  14. 14
    A contortion, or twist.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. I cut myself badly while cooking and needed to go to hospital to get stitches.
  2. cross stitch

Etymology

From Middle English stiche, from Old English stiċe (“a prick, puncture, stab, thrust with a pointed implement, pricking sensation, stitch, pain in the side, sting”), from Proto-West Germanic *stiki, from Proto-Germanic *stikiz (“prick, piercing, stitch”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)teyg- (“to stab, pierce”). Cognate with Dutch steek (“prick, stitch”), German Stich (“a prick, piercing, stitch”), Old English stician (“to stick, stab, pierce, prick”). More at stick. Via PIE cognate with Czech steh, Polish ścieg, Russian стежо́к (stežók).

This word in other languages

puntada(Español)point(Français)Stich(Deutsch)ponto(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • sittch
  • sstitch
  • sticth
  • stitcch
  • stitchh
  • stithc
  • stittch
  • sttich
  • sttitch
  • tsitch

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of stitch - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

sittch2sstitch1sticth2stitcch1stitchh1stithc2stittch1sttich2
Edit distance from "stitch"

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 "stitch"?
"stitch" is spelled S-T-I-T-C-H. The IPA pronunciation is /stɪt͡ʃ/.
What does "stitch" mean?
As a noun, "stitch" means: A single pass of a needle in sewing; the loop or turn of the thread thus made.
What words are commonly confused with "stitch"?
"stitch" is commonly confused with "switch", "swatch", "stretch". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "stitch"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "stitch" is /stɪt͡ʃ/. 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 "stitch"?
From Middle English stiche, from Old English stiċe (“a prick, puncture, stab, thrust with a pointed implement, pricking sensation, stitch, pain in the side, sting”), from Proto-West Germanic *stiki, from Proto-Germanic *stikiz (“prick, piercing, s... 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 "stitch", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

sultan#12,336spared#12,330thirst#12,343serena#12,323

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (10 here; floor ≥5).

scarlet10 variantsvinegar10 variantsrevived10 variantsaccessory10 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list