sugar

/ˈʃʊɡ.ə/

//ˈʃʊɡ.ə// noun

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

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

The verdict

“sugar” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #2,132 in English word frequency and used as a noun.

#2,132
frequency rank, English
5
letters
7
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Sucrose in the form of small crystals, obtained from sugar cane or sugar beet and used to sweeten food and drink.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

sugar vs sura
60% similar
sugar vs super
60% similar
sugar vs swear
60% similar

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

Key facts for sugar
PropertyValue
Headwordsugar
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈʃʊɡ.ə/
Letters5
Frequency rank#2,132
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “sugar” 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). sugar lands here:

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

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

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for sugar is 5 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈʃʊɡ.ə/. Corpus data places it at rank #2,132 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 13 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for sugar, with forms such as "sguar", "ssugar", and "suagr". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "sura", "super", "swear", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *ḱorkeh₂ Proto-Indo-Iranian *ćárkaraH Proto-Indo-Aryan *śárkaraH Sanskrit शर्क॑रा (śárkarā) Gandhari 𐨭𐨐𐨪 (śakara)bor. Middle Persian 𐭱𐭪𐭥 (šakar)bor. Arabic سُكَّر (sukkar)bor. Old Italian zuccherobor. Old French çucr… The correct English form is sugar, spelled S-U-G-A-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    Sucrose in the form of small crystals, obtained from sugar cane or sugar beet and used to sweeten food and drink.
  2. 2
    A specific variety of sugar.
  3. 3
    Any of various small carbohydrates that are used by organisms to store energy.
  4. 4
    A small serving of this substance (typically about one teaspoon), used to sweeten a drink.
  5. 5
    A term of endearment.
  6. 6
    Affection shown by kisses or kissing.
  7. 7
    Effeminacy in a male, often implying homosexuality.
  8. 8
    Diabetes.
  9. 9
    Anything resembling sugar in taste or appearance, especially in chemistry.
  10. 10
    Compliment or flattery used to disguise or render acceptable something obnoxious; honeyed or soothing words.
  11. 11
    Heroin.
  12. 12
    Money.
  13. 13
    Syntactic sugar.

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *ḱorkeh₂ Proto-Indo-Iranian *ćárkaraH Proto-Indo-Aryan *śárkaraH Sanskrit शर्क॑रा (śárkarā) Gandhari 𐨭𐨐𐨪 (śakara)bor. Middle Persian 𐭱𐭪𐭥 (šakar)bor. Arabic سُكَّر (sukkar)bor. Old Italian zuccherobor. Old French çucrebor. Middle English sugre English sugar Inherited from Middle English sugre, borrowed from Old French çucre, borrowed from Old Italian zucchero, borrowed from Arabic سُكَّر (sukkar), borrowed from Middle Persian 𐭱𐭪𐭥 (šakar), borrowed from Gandhari 𐨭𐨐𐨪 (śakara), from Sanskrit शर्क॑रा (śárkarā), from Proto-Indo-Aryan *śárkaraH, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *ćárkaraH, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱorkeh₂ (“gravel”). Akin to Ancient Greek κρόκη (krókē, “pebble”), whence the words crocodile and krokodil are derived. Doublet of jaggery and sucro-. The verb is from Middle English sugren, from the noun.

This word in other languages

azúcar(Español)sucre(Français)Zucker(Deutsch)açúcar(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: sguar,ssugar,suagr,sugarr,suggar,sugra,usgar

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of sugar - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

sguar2ssugar1suagr2sugarr1suggar1sugra2usgar2
Edit distance from "sugar"

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 "sugar"?
"sugar" is spelled S-U-G-A-R. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈʃʊɡ.ə/.
What does "sugar" mean?
As a noun, "sugar" means: Sucrose in the form of small crystals, obtained from sugar cane or sugar beet and used to sweeten food and drink.
What words are commonly confused with "sugar"?
"sugar" is commonly confused with "sura", "super", "swear". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "sugar"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "sugar" is /ˈʃʊɡ.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 "sugar"?
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *ḱorkeh₂ Proto-Indo-Iranian *ćárkaraH Proto-Indo-Aryan *śárkaraH Sanskrit शर्क॑रा (śárkarā) Gandhari 𐨭𐨐𐨪 (śakara)bor. Middle Persian 𐭱𐭪𐭥 (šakar)bor. Arabic سُكَّر (sukkar)bor. Old Italian zuccherobor. Old F... 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 “sugar”

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

  • The one correct English spelling is S-U-G-A-R - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /ˈʃʊɡ.ə/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “sura” - see the side-by-side comparison. sugar vs sura
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list