straining

noun

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

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

The verdict

“straining” has 14 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #21,950. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#21,950
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
14
tracked misspellings
7
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The act by which one strains. (muscles, etc)

Corpus desk

Index EN-straining · straining · English

straining · rank #21,950 · 14 variants · 7 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #21,950
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 7 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 14 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH Stu

Nearest frequency peer: Stu (+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 “straining”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “straining” 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).

straining vs striking
78% similar
straining vs striving
78% similar
straining vs straying
78% similar

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

Key facts for straining
PropertyValue
Headwordstraining
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters9
Frequency rank#21,950
Misspellings tracked14
Confusable pairs7
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “straining”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).straininglands 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 “Stu” (#21,951), “stoppage” (#21,948), “superpower” (#21,952). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “straining” is #21,950. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 14 spelling variants around straining, anoun. Corpus frequency is #21,950 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 14 likely wrong-spelling variants for straining, with forms such as "srtaining", "sstraining", and "starining". 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 7 confusable-pair relationships, "striking", "striving", "straying", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Wiktionary doesn't record an etymology for this headword, so its spelling is best read as a straightforward mapping from sound to letter. The correct English form is straining, spelled S-T-R-A-I-N-I-N-G.

Definition

  1. 1
    The act by which one strains. (muscles, etc)
  2. 2
    filtering, the process of passing something through a strainer.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. sundry violent gaspings and strainings
  2. Then after that process which Culverwel describes as so many strainings, refinings, and clarifyings, the mind is prepared for a true insight into the real nature of the world by way of intuition.

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • srtaining
  • sstraining
  • starining
  • straiinng
  • strainign
  • strainingg
  • straininng
  • strainnig
  • strainning
  • straniing
  • strianing
  • strraining
  • sttraining
  • tsraining

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

srtaining2sstraining1starining2straiinng2strainign2strainingg1straininng1strainnig2
Edit distance from "straining"

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 "straining"?
"straining" is spelled S-T-R-A-I-N-I-N-G.
What does "straining" mean?
As a noun, "straining" means: The act by which one strains. (muscles, etc)
What words are commonly confused with "straining"?
"straining" is commonly confused with "striking", "striving", "straying". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
What language does "straining" come from?
"straining" is a English word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
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 "straining", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

Tasmanian#21,956Tomlinson#21,965shepherds#21,934unsettled#21,969

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (14 here; floor ≥5).

seduction14 variantsWoodstock14 variantsabsurdity14 variantsreverence14 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list