stopwatch

noun

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

"stopwatch" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“stopwatch” has 15 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #47,935. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#47,935
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
15
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A timepiece designed to measure the amount of time elapsed between a particular time when activated and when the piece is deactivated.

Corpus desk

Index EN-stopwatch · stopwatch · English

stopwatch · rank #47,935 · 15 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #47,935
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 15 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH sternly

Nearest frequency peer: sternly (-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 “stopwatch”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “stopwatch” 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 stopwatch
PropertyValue
Headwordstopwatch
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters9
Frequency rank#47,935
Misspellings tracked15
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “stopwatch”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).stopwatchlands 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 “sternly” (#47,934), “stranglehold” (#47,936), “stratospheric” (#47,937). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “stopwatch” is #47,935. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 15 spelling variants around stopwatch, anoun. Corpus frequency is #47,935 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Dominant gloss: "A timepiece designed to measure the amount of time elapsed between a particular time when activated and when the piece is deactivated.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 15 likely wrong-spelling variants for stopwatch, with forms such as "sotpwatch", "sstopwatch", and "stopawtch". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

Etymologically, the entry records: From stop + watch. The correct English form is stopwatch, spelled S-T-O-P-W-A-T-C-H.

Definition

  1. 1
    A timepiece designed to measure the amount of time elapsed between a particular time when activated and when the piece is deactivated.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. I etched the face of a stopwatch on the back of a raindrop And did a swap for the sand in an hourglass

Etymology

From stop + watch.

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • sotpwatch
  • sstopwatch
  • stopawtch
  • stoppwatch
  • stopwacth
  • stopwatcch
  • stopwatchh
  • stopwathc
  • stopwattch
  • stopwtach
  • stopwwatch
  • stowpatch
  • stpowatch
  • sttopwatch
  • tsopwatch

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of stopwatch - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

sotpwatch2sstopwatch1stopawtch2stoppwatch1stopwacth2stopwatcch1stopwatchh1stopwathc2
Edit distance from "stopwatch"

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 "stopwatch"?
"stopwatch" is spelled S-T-O-P-W-A-T-C-H.
What does "stopwatch" mean?
As a noun, "stopwatch" means: A timepiece designed to measure the amount of time elapsed between a particular time when activated and when the piece is deactivated.
What are common misspellings of "stopwatch"?
Common misspellings include "sotpwatch", "sstopwatch", "stopawtch", "stoppwatch", "stopwacth". The correct spelling is "stopwatch".
What is the origin of the word "stopwatch"?
From stop + watch. 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 "stopwatch", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

subfamily#47,940squeaking#47,925Snohomish#47,915theocracy#47,960

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (15 here; floor ≥5).

streetwear15 variantsundersized15 variantsunprocessed15 variantsringleader15 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list