stripe

/stɹaɪp/

//stɹaɪp// noun

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

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

The verdict

“stripe” has 9 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #14,846. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#14,846
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
9
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A long region of a single colour in a repeating pattern of similar regions.

Corpus desk

Index EN-stripe · stripe · English

stripe · rank #14,846 · 9 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #14,846
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 9 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH Stalls

Nearest frequency peer: Stalls (-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 “stripe”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “stripe” 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).

stripe vs swipe
67% similar
stripe vs stroke
67% similar
stripe vs strips
83% similar

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

Key facts for stripe
PropertyValue
Headwordstripe
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/stɹaɪp/
Letters6
Frequency rank#14,846
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “stripe”

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).stripelands 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 “Stalls” (#14,845), “submerged” (#14,847), “spins” (#14,843). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “stripe” is #14,846. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 9 spelling variants around stripe (IPA /stɹaɪp/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #14,846 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 10 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for stripe, with forms such as "srtipe", "sstripe", and "stirpe". 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, "swipe", "stroke", "strips", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English stripe, strype, from Middle Dutch or Middle Low German strîpe, from Proto-West Germanic *strīpā, *strīpō, from Proto-Germanic *strīpô. Cognate with Saterland Frisian Striepe (“stripe, strip”), West Frisian stripe (“stripe”), Dutch streep… The correct English form is stripe, spelled S-T-R-I-P-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A long region of a single colour in a repeating pattern of similar regions.
  2. 2
    A long, relatively straight region against a different coloured background.
  3. 3
    The badge worn by certain officers in the military or other forces.
  4. 4
    Distinguishing characteristic; sign; likeness; sort.
  5. 5
    A long, narrow mark left by striking someone with a whip or stick; a blow or lash with a whip, stick, or scourge.
  6. 6
    A slash cut into the flesh as a punishment.
  7. 7
    A pattern produced by arranging the warp threads in sets of alternating colours, or in sets presenting some other contrast of appearance.
  8. 8
    Any of the balls marked with stripes in the game of pool, which one player aims to pot, the other player taking the spots.
  9. 9
    A portion of data distributed across several separate physical disks for the sake of redundancy.
  10. 10
    The start/finish line.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. zebra stripes
  2. 8 Sep 2019, Peter Conrad in The Guardian, Sontag: Her Life by Benjamin Moser review – heavyweight study of a critical colossus At first, what mattered was the sparky contents of Sontag’s head; by the end she was best known for the way she wore her hair – that saturnine battle helmet of dyed black, with a single stripe left white at the temple like a Frank…

Etymology

From Middle English stripe, strype, from Middle Dutch or Middle Low German strîpe, from Proto-West Germanic *strīpā, *strīpō, from Proto-Germanic *strīpô. Cognate with Saterland Frisian Striepe (“stripe, strip”), West Frisian stripe (“stripe”), Dutch streep (“stripe”), German Low German Striepe, Striep, Streep (“stripe”), German Streifen (“stripe, strip, band”), Danish stribe (“stripe”).

This word in other languages

franja(Español)rayure(Français)Streifen(Deutsch)listra(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • srtipe
  • sstripe
  • stirpe
  • striep
  • strippe
  • strpie
  • strripe
  • sttripe
  • tsripe

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of stripe - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

srtipe2sstripe1stirpe2striep2strippe1strpie2strripe1sttripe1
Edit distance from "stripe"

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 "stripe"?
"stripe" is spelled S-T-R-I-P-E. The IPA pronunciation is /stɹaɪp/.
What does "stripe" mean?
As a noun, "stripe" means: A long region of a single colour in a repeating pattern of similar regions.
What words are commonly confused with "stripe"?
"stripe" is commonly confused with "swipe", "stroke", "strips". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "stripe"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "stripe" is /stɹaɪp/. 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 "stripe"?
From Middle English stripe, strype, from Middle Dutch or Middle Low German strîpe, from Proto-West Germanic *strīpā, *strīpō, from Proto-Germanic *strīpô. Cognate with Saterland Frisian Striepe (“stripe, strip”), West Frisian stripe (“stripe”), Du... 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 "stripe", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

Stalls#14,845avoids#14,890outlaw#14,801bridal#14,905

Similar misspelling depth

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

praises9 variantsoversee9 variantsbuckle9 variantscradle9 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list