stridor

/ˈstɹaɪdɚ/

//ˈstɹaɪdɚ// noun

"stridor" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“stridor” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
7
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A harsh, shrill, unpleasant noise.

Corpus desk

Index EN-stridor · stridor · English

stridor · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "S" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

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.

Key facts for stridor
PropertyValue
Headwordstridor
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈstɹaɪdɚ/
Letters7
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “stridor” in English

stridorsits beyond the 100,000 most-frequent English words, in the long tail of technical, archaic, or otherwise rare vocabulary where spelling doubt tends to strike hardest.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

stridor is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈstɹaɪdɚ/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

stridor has no tracked misspelling variants, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Latin strīdor (“shrill or harsh sound”), from strīdō (“make a shrill or harsh sound”). The correct English form is stridor, spelled S-T-R-I-D-O-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    A harsh, shrill, unpleasant noise.
  2. 2
    A high-pitched sound heard on inspiration resulting from turbulent air flow in the upper airway usually indicative of serious airway obstruction.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. But when the tilted plank let slide its freight into the sea, a second strange human murmur was heard, blended now with another inarticulate sound proceeding from certain larger sea-fowl, whose attention having been attracted by the peculiar commotion in the water resulting from the heavy sloped dive of the shotted hammock into the sea, flew screaming to…
  2. Her breath-holding increased in duration to almost a minute; her expirations became complicated by stridor, forced retching, and forced phonations ('Oouuggh!').

Etymology

From Latin strīdor (“shrill or harsh sound”), from strīdō (“make a shrill or harsh sound”).

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "stridor"?
"stridor" is spelled S-T-R-I-D-O-R. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈstɹaɪdɚ/.
What does "stridor" mean?
As a noun, "stridor" means: A harsh, shrill, unpleasant noise.
How do you pronounce "stridor"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "stridor" is /ˈstɹaɪdɚ/. 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 "stridor"?
From Latin strīdor (“shrill or harsh sound”), from strīdō (“make a shrill or harsh sound”). 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list