straw

/stɹɔː/

//stɹɔː// noun

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

"straw" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“straw” has 8 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #7,294. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#7,294
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
8
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A dried stalk of a cereal plant.

Corpus desk

Index EN-straw · straw · English

straw · rank #7,294 · 8 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #7,294
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 8 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH Stevens

Nearest frequency peer: Stevens (-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 “straw”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “straw” 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).

straw vs sura
60% similar
straw vs strip
60% similar
straw vs stray
80% similar

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

Key facts for straw
PropertyValue
Headwordstraw
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/stɹɔː/
Letters5
Frequency rank#7,294
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “straw”

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).strawlands 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 “Stevens” (#7,293), “successor” (#7,295), “steep” (#7,292). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “straw” is #7,294. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 8 spelling variants around straw (IPA /stɹɔː/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #7,294 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 6 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for straw, with forms such as "srtaw", "sstraw", and "starw". 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. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "sura", "strip", "stray", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English straw, from Old English strēaw, from Proto-West Germanic *strau, from Proto-Germanic *strawą (“that which is strewn, straw”), from Proto-Indo-European *strew- (“to spread around, strew”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian Sträi (“straw”), W… The correct English form is straw, spelled S-T-R-A-W.

Definition

  1. 1
    A dried stalk of a cereal plant.
  2. 2
    Such dried stalks considered collectively; this bulk matter may be a chief salable product, a by-product, fodder, bedding, or green manure, depending on region and on current market conditions.
  3. 3
    A drinking straw.
  4. 4
    A pale, yellowish beige colour, like that of a dried straw.
  5. 5
    Anything proverbially worthless; the least possible thing.
  6. 6
    A straw owner.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. to not care a straw
  2. ‘For thy sword and thy bow I care not a straw, Nor all thine arrows to boot; If I get a knop upon thy bare scop, Thou canst as well shite as shoote.’

Etymology

From Middle English straw, from Old English strēaw, from Proto-West Germanic *strau, from Proto-Germanic *strawą (“that which is strewn, straw”), from Proto-Indo-European *strew- (“to spread around, strew”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian Sträi (“straw”), West Frisian strie (“straw”), Dutch stro (“straw”), German Low German Stroh (“straw”), German Stroh (“straw”), Danish, Norwegian and Swedish strå (“straw”), Icelandic strá (“straw”), Walloon strin, Albanian shtrohë (“kennel”).

Synonyms

litter

This word in other languages

paja(Español)paille(Français)Halm(Deutsch)palha(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • srtaw
  • sstraw
  • starw
  • straww
  • strraw
  • strwa
  • sttraw
  • tsraw

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

srtaw2sstraw1starw2straww1strraw1strwa2sttraw1tsraw2
Edit distance from "straw"

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 "straw"?
"straw" is spelled S-T-R-A-W. The IPA pronunciation is /stɹɔː/.
What does "straw" mean?
As a noun, "straw" means: A dried stalk of a cereal plant.
What words are commonly confused with "straw"?
"straw" is commonly confused with "sura", "strip", "stray". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "straw"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "straw" is /stɹɔː/. 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 "straw"?
From Middle English straw, from Old English strēaw, from Proto-West Germanic *strau, from Proto-Germanic *strawą (“that which is strewn, straw”), from Proto-Indo-European *strew- (“to spread around, strew”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian Sträi (“... 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 "straw", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

steep#7,292spark#7,290sneak#7,287weigh#7,303

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (8 here; floor ≥5).

upload8 variantsskinny8 variantsatomic8 variantsBryan8 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list