strain

/stɹeɪn/

//stɹeɪn// noun

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

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

The verdict

“strain” has 9 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #5,633. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#5,633
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
9
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Race; lineage, pedigree.

Corpus desk

Index EN-strain · strain · English

strain · rank #5,633 · 9 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #5,633
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 9 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH stating

Nearest frequency peer: stating (-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 “strain”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “strain” 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).

strain vs strip
67% similar
strain vs straw
67% similar
strain vs strap
67% similar

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

Key facts for strain
PropertyValue
Headwordstrain
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/stɹeɪn/
Letters6
Frequency rank#5,633
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “strain”

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).strainlands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “stating” (#5,632), “suspected” (#5,634), “stake” (#5,631). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “strain” is #5,633. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 9 spelling variants around strain (IPA /stɹeɪn/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #5,633 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 8 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for strain, with forms such as "srtain", "sstrain", and "starin". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "strip", "straw", "strap", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English streen, strene, streon, istreon (“race, stock, generation”), from Old English strēon, ġestrēon (“gain, wealth”), from Proto-Germanic *streuną (“heap, treasure, profit, gain”), from Proto-Indo-European *strew- (“to spread, strew”) (cognat… The correct English form is strain, spelled S-T-R-A-I-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    Race; lineage, pedigree.
  2. 2
    A particular variety of a microbe, virus, or other organism, usually a taxonomically infraspecific one.
  3. 3
    Hereditary character, quality, tendency, or disposition.
  4. 4
    Any sustained note or movement; a song; a distinct portion of an ode or other poem; also, the pervading note, or burden, of a song, poem, etc.
  5. 5
    Language that is eloquent, poetic, or otherwise heightened.
  6. 6
    A kind or sort (of person etc.).
  7. 7
    Treasure.
  8. 8
    The blood-vessel in the yolk of an egg.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. He is of a noble strain.
  2. […] with animals and plants a cross between different varieties, or between individuals of the same variety but of another strain, gives vigour and fertility to the offspring; […]

Etymology

From Middle English streen, strene, streon, istreon (“race, stock, generation”), from Old English strēon, ġestrēon (“gain, wealth”), from Proto-Germanic *streuną (“heap, treasure, profit, gain”), from Proto-Indo-European *strew- (“to spread, strew”) (cognate with Old Saxon gistriuni, Old High German gistriuni (“gain, property, wealth, business”), Latin strues (“heap”)). Confused in Middle English with the related noun strend, strynd, strund, from Old English strȳnd (“race; stock”), from strēonan, strȳnan (“to beget; acquire”). Related also to Dutch struinen (“to prowl, root about, rout”).

This word in other languages

cepa(Español)race(Français)Sorte(Deutsch)cepa(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • srtain
  • sstrain
  • starin
  • strainn
  • strani
  • strian
  • strrain
  • sttrain
  • tsrain

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of strain - 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.

srtain2sstrain1starin2strainn1strani2strian2strrain1sttrain1
Edit distance from "strain"

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 "strain"?
"strain" is spelled S-T-R-A-I-N. The IPA pronunciation is /stɹeɪn/.
What does "strain" mean?
As a noun, "strain" means: Race; lineage, pedigree.
What words are commonly confused with "strain"?
"strain" is commonly confused with "strip", "straw", "strap". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "strain"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "strain" is /stɹeɪn/. 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 "strain"?
From Middle English streen, strene, streon, istreon (“race, stock, generation”), from Old English strēon, ġestrēon (“gain, wealth”), from Proto-Germanic *streuną (“heap, treasure, profit, gain”), from Proto-Indo-European *strew- (“to spread, strew... 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 "strain", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

tackle#5,636traded#5,640tricks#5,642urgent#5,644

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (9 here; floor ≥5).

Rachel9 variantswrapped9 variantsNorway9 variantsminded9 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list