sucker

/ˈsʌk.ə/

//ˈsʌk.ə// noun

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

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

The verdict

“sucker” has 9 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #13,248. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#13,248
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 person or animal that sucks, especially a breast or udder; especially a suckling animal, young mammal before it is weaned.

Corpus desk

Index EN-sucker · sucker · English

sucker · rank #13,248 · 9 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #13,248
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 9 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH Steele

Nearest frequency peer: Steele (-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.

Frequency neighbourhood for “sucker”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “sucker” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

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).

sucker vs super
67% similar
sucker vs sucks
67% similar
sucker vs sucky
67% similar

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

Key facts for sucker
PropertyValue
Headwordsucker
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈsʌk.ə/
Letters6
Frequency rank#13,248
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “sucker” sits in English frequency

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).suckerlands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “Steele” (#13,247), “suns” (#13,249), “sponge” (#13,246). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 9 spelling variants around sucker (IPA /ˈsʌk.ə/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #13,248 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 18 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for sucker, with forms such as "scuker", "ssucker", and "succker". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "super", "sucks", "sucky", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English souker, sokere, sukkere, soukere, equivalent to suck (verb) + -er. Compare Saterland Frisian Suuger, West Frisian sûker (“sucker”), Dutch zuiger (“sucker”), German Sauger (“dummy; vacuum”). The correct English form is sucker, spelled S-U-C-K-E-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    A person or animal that sucks, especially a breast or udder; especially a suckling animal, young mammal before it is weaned.
  2. 2
    An undesired stem growing out of the roots or lower trunk of a shrub or tree, especially from the rootstock of a grafted plant or tree.
  3. 3
    A parasite; a sponger.
  4. 4
    An organ or body part that does the sucking; especially a round structure on the bodies of some insects, frogs, and octopuses that allows them to stick to surfaces.
  5. 5
    A thing that works by sucking something.
  6. 6
    The embolus, or bucket, of a pump; also, the valve of a pump basket.
  7. 7
    A pipe through which anything is drawn.
  8. 8
    A small piece of leather, usually round, having a string attached to the center, which, when saturated with water and pressed upon a stone or other body having a smooth surface, adheres, by reason of the atmospheric pressure, with such force as to enable a considerable weight to be thus lifted by the string; formerly used by children as a plaything.
  9. 9
    A suction cup.
  10. 10
    An animal such as the octopus and remora, which adhere to other bodies with such organs.
  11. 11
    Any fish in the family Catostomidae of North America and eastern Asia, which have mouths modified into downward-pointing, suckerlike structures for feeding in bottom sediments.
  12. 12
    A lollipop; a piece of candy which is sucked.
  13. 13
    A hard drinker.
  14. 14
    An inhabitant of Illinois.
  15. 15
    A migrant lead miner working in the Driftless Area of northwest Illinois, southwest Wisconsin, and northeast Iowa, working in summer and leaving for winter, so named because of the similarity to the migratory patterns of the North American Catostomidae.
  16. 16
    A person who is easily deceived, tricked or persuaded to do something; a naive or gullible person.
  17. 17
    A person irresistibly attracted by something specified.
  18. 18
    The penis.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Sir Gregory. I promise you, not a house-rabbit, sir. Sir Perfidious. No sucker on ’em all.
  2. They who constantly converse with men far above their estates shall reap shame and loss thereby; if thou payest nothing, they will count thee a sucker, no branch.

Etymology

From Middle English souker, sokere, sukkere, soukere, equivalent to suck (verb) + -er. Compare Saterland Frisian Suuger, West Frisian sûker (“sucker”), Dutch zuiger (“sucker”), German Sauger (“dummy; vacuum”).

This word in other languages

mamón(Español)suceur(Français)Sauger(Deutsch)ventosa(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • scuker
  • ssucker
  • succker
  • sucekr
  • suckerr
  • suckker
  • suckre
  • sukcer
  • uscker

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

scuker2ssucker1succker1sucekr2suckerr1suckker1suckre2sukcer2
Edit distance from "sucker"

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 "sucker"?
"sucker" is spelled S-U-C-K-E-R. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈsʌk.ə/.
What does "sucker" mean?
As a noun, "sucker" means: A person or animal that sucks, especially a breast or udder; especially a suckling animal, young mammal before it is weaned.
What words are commonly confused with "sucker"?
"sucker" is commonly confused with "super", "sucks", "sucky". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "sucker"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "sucker" is /ˈsʌk.ə/. 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 "sucker"?
From Middle English souker, sokere, sukkere, soukere, equivalent to suck (verb) + -er. Compare Saterland Frisian Suuger, West Frisian sûker (“sucker”), Dutch zuiger (“sucker”), German Sauger (“dummy; vacuum”). 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 "sucker", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

Steele#13,247sponge#13,246sloppy#13,239sermon#13,235

Similar misspelling depth

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

Tiffany9 variantsupheld9 variantsValerie9 variantsrested9 variants

What to do next

You've looked up "sucker". Here's where to go from here.

  • "sucker" maps to 20 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "super". View pair
  • 9 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
  • Usage frequency rank #13,248 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more English words in the "S" letter cohort. S–Z browse
  • PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

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