strove

/ˈstɹɔʊv/

//ˈstɹɔʊv// verb

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

The verdict

“strove” has 9 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #43,398. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#43,398
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
9
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - simple past of strive

Corpus desk

Index EN-strove · strove · English

strove · rank #43,398 · 9 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #43,398
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 9 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH strenuously

Nearest frequency peer: strenuously (-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 “strove”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “strove” 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).

strove vs store
67% similar
strove vs serve
67% similar
strove vs stone
67% similar

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

Key facts for strove
PropertyValue
Headwordstrove
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/ˈstɹɔʊv/
Letters6
Frequency rank#43,398
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “strove”

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).strovelands here:

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “strenuously” (#43,397), “surmise” (#43,399), “stratum” (#43,396). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “strove” is #43,398. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 9 spelling variants around strove (IPA /ˈstɹɔʊv/), averb. Corpus frequency is #43,398 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for strove, with forms such as "srtove", "sstrove", and "storve". 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, "store", "serve", "stone", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

No documented word history exists for this headword, so spelling patterns must be inferred from the word's phoneme-to-grapheme mapping rather than from a documented borrowing chain. The correct English form is strove, spelled S-T-R-O-V-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    simple past of strive
  2. 2
    past participle of strive

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. They have not been content with the Simplicity of the Goſpel, which is a plain Rule of living wel, but have ſtrove to out-wit one another in finding out hidden Miſterys;[…]
  2. […]while, I fear, there will be some white ones, unable to forget that, with malignant heart, and deceitful speech, they have strove to hinder it.

Synonyms

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • srtove
  • sstrove
  • storve
  • stroev
  • strovve
  • strrove
  • strvoe
  • sttrove
  • tsrove

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of strove - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

srtove2sstrove1storve2stroev2strovve1strrove1strvoe2sttrove1
Edit distance from "strove"

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 "strove"?
"strove" is spelled S-T-R-O-V-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈstɹɔʊv/.
What does "strove" mean?
As a verb, "strove" means: simple past of strive
What words are commonly confused with "strove"?
"strove" is commonly confused with "store", "serve", "stone". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "strove"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "strove" is /ˈstɹɔʊv/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "strove" come from?
"strove" is a English word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
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 "strove", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

Similar misspelling depth

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

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list