string
Definition, pronunciation, etymology, and usage for the English word. Free spelling reference powered by Wiktionary.
Letters
6 characters
Language
English
word origin
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Detailed reference entry for the English word "string", 6-letters, with pronunciation in International Phonetic Alphabet notation, etymology traced through Germanic and Romance roots where applicable, common misspelling variants catalogued from Hunspell error dictionaries, and usage frequency ranked against the top 100,000 English words in the Wordfreq corpus. PlainSpell covers English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German spelling with confusable-pair detection that highlights visually and phonetically similar words. This entry for "string" includes synonyms, antonyms, homophones, and cross-language translation pointers sourced from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org extract. Whether you are verifying the correct spelling of "string" for academic writing, checking homophone confusion, or exploring etymological origins, this page provides a citation-backed, free reference that requires no sign-up.
string is aEnglishnoun. It means: A long, thin and flexible structure made from threads twisted together. Pronounced /stɹɪŋ/. It ranks #3,658 in English word frequency. Often confused with strip and swing.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | string |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /stɹɪŋ/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #3,658 |
| Misspellings tracked | 10 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Frequency rank visualization
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for string is 6 letters long, classified as anoun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /stɹɪŋ/. Corpus data places it at rank #3,658 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text.Wiktionary records 31 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our Hunspell-derived misspelling index lists 10 documented wrong-spelling variants for string, with forms such as "srting", "sstring", and "stirng". Each variant represents a distinct typo pattern that appears often enough in corpora to be worth flagging, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution.It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "strip", "swing", "suing", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English string, streng, strynge, from Old English strenġ, from Proto-West Germanic *strangi, from Proto-Germanic *strangiz (“string”), from Proto-Indo-European *strengʰ- (“rope, cord, strand; to tighten”). Cognate with Scots string (“string”), D… Root origin matters for spelling because borrowed morphemes (Greek, Latin, Old French, Old English) carry their source-language orthographic conventions into modern English, which is why historical etymology is often the cleanest predictor of whether a cluster like "-ough", "-eau", or "-tion" will appear. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct English form is string, spelled S-T-R-I-N-G, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.
Definition
- 1A long, thin and flexible structure made from threads twisted together.
- 2Any similar long, thin and flexible object.
- 3Any similar long, thin and flexible object.
- 4A thread or cord on which a number of objects or parts are strung or arranged in close and orderly succession; hence, a line or series of things arranged on a thread, or as if so arranged.
- 5A cohesive substance taking the form of a string.
- 6A series of items or events.
- 7A slightly elevated (long, thin) peat ridge in a bog.
- 8The members of a sports team or squad regarded as most likely to achieve success. (Perhaps metaphorical as the "strings" that hold the squad together.) Often first string, second string etc.
- 9In various games and competitions, a certain number of turns at play, of rounds, etc.
- 10A drove of horses, or a group of racehorses kept by one owner or at one stable.
- 11An ordered sequence of text characters stored consecutively in memory and capable of being processed as a single entity.
- 12A stringed instrument.
- 13The stringed instruments as a section of an orchestra, especially those played by a bow, or the persons playing those instruments.
- 14The conditions and limitations in a contract collectively.
- 15A tiny one-dimensional string-like entity, the main object of study in string theory, a branch of theoretical physics.
- 16Cannabis or marijuana.
- 17Part of the game of billiards, where the order of the play is determined by testing who can get a ball closest to the bottom rail by shooting it onto the end rail.
- 18The buttons strung on a wire by which the score is kept.
- 19The points made in a game of billiards.
- 20The line from behind and over which the cue ball must be played after being out of play, as by being pocketed or knocked off the table; also called the string line.
- 21A strip, as of leather, by which the covers of a book are held together.
- 22A fibre, as of a plant; a little fibrous root.
- 23A nerve or tendon of an animal body.
- 24A board supporting steps
- 25An inside range of ceiling planks, corresponding to the sheer strake on the outside and bolted to it.
- 26The tough fibrous substance that unites the valves of the pericarp of leguminous plants.
- 27A small, filamentous ramification of a metallic vein.
- 28A stringcourse.
- 29A hoax; a fake story.
- 30Synonym of stable (“group of prostitutes managed by one pimp”).
- 31A column of drill pipe that transmits drilling fluid (using the mud pumps) and torque (using the kelly drive or top drive) to the drill bit.
Etymology
From Middle English string, streng, strynge, from Old English strenġ, from Proto-West Germanic *strangi, from Proto-Germanic *strangiz (“string”), from Proto-Indo-European *strengʰ- (“rope, cord, strand; to tighten”). Cognate with Scots string (“string”), Dutch streng (“cord, strand”), Low German strenge (“strand, cord, rope”), German Strang (“strand, cord, rope”), Danish streng (“string”), Swedish sträng (“string, cord, wire”), Icelandic strengur (“string”), Latvian stringt (“to be tight, wither”), Latin stringō (“I tighten”), Ancient Greek στραγγαλόομαι (strangalóomai, “to strangle”), from στραγγάλη (strangálē, “halter”), Ancient Greek στραγγός (strangós, “tied together, entangled, twisted”).
Synonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: srting,sstring,stirng,strign,stringg,strinng,strnig,strring,sttring,tsring
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
Relative frequency of common misspelling types for string
Misspelling Variants of "string"
Frequency rank: #3,658 in English
Frequently Asked Questions
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Nearby English words
Other entries that begin with the letter S in our English index: