strop

/stɹɒp/

//stɹɒp// noun

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

The verdict

“strop” is uncommon English (frequency #73,665 among 54,294 “S” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#73,665
frequency rank, English
54,294
“S” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A strap; more specifically a piece of leather or a substitute (notably canvas), or strip of wood covered with a suitable material, for honing a razor.

Key facts for strop
PropertyValue
Headwordstrop
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/stɹɒp/
Letters5
Frequency rank#73,665
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “strop” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). strop lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

strop is uncommon English at frequency #73,665 among 54,294 “S” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /stɹɒp/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

strop doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: Same as strap (which see); recorded in English since 1702. The verb sense referring to honing a sharp edge is recorded since 1842. The correct English form is strop, spelled S-T-R-O-P.

Definition

  1. 1
    A strap; more specifically a piece of leather or a substitute (notably canvas), or strip of wood covered with a suitable material, for honing a razor.
  2. 2
    A piece of rope spliced into a circular wreath, and put round a block for hanging it.

Etymology

Same as strap (which see); recorded in English since 1702. The verb sense referring to honing a sharp edge is recorded since 1842.

This word in other languages

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 "strop"?
"strop" is spelled S-T-R-O-P. The IPA pronunciation is /stɹɒp/.
What does "strop" mean?
As a noun, "strop" means: A strap; more specifically a piece of leather or a substitute (notably canvas), or strip of wood covered with a suitable material, for honing a razor.
How do you pronounce "strop"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "strop" is /stɹɒp/. 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 "strop"?
Same as strap (which see); recorded in English since 1702. The verb sense referring to honing a sharp edge is recorded since 1842. 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.

Using “strop”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is S-T-R-O-P - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /stɹɒp/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words

Other uncommon English words near this rank

Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list