suit

/sjuːt/

//sjuːt// noun

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

"suit" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“suit” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #2,055 in English word frequency and used as a noun.

#2,055
frequency rank, English
4
letters
5
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A set of clothes to be worn together, now especially a man's matching jacket and trousers (also business suit or lounge suit), or a similar outfit for a woman.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

suit vs sun
50% similar
suit vs sum
50% similar
suit vs SUV
0% similar

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

Key facts for suit
PropertyValue
Headwordsuit
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/sjuːt/
Letters4
Frequency rank#2,055
Misspellings tracked5
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “suit” 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). suit 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 suit is 4 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /sjuːt/. Corpus data places it at rank #2,055 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 15 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 5 likely wrong-spelling variants for suit, with forms such as "siut", "ssuit", and "suitt". 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, "sun", "sum", "SUV", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English sute, borrowed from Anglo-Norman suite and Old French sieute, siute (modern suite), originally a participle adjective from Vulgar Latin *sequita (for secūta), from Latin sequi (“to follow”), because the component garments "follow each ot… The correct English form is suit, spelled S-U-I-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    A set of clothes to be worn together, now especially a man's matching jacket and trousers (also business suit or lounge suit), or a similar outfit for a woman.
  2. 2
    A garment or set of garments suitable and/or required for a given task or activity: space suit, boiler suit, protective suit, swimsuit.
  3. 3
    A dress.
  4. 4
    A person who wears matching jacket and trousers, especially a boss or a supervisor.
  5. 5
    A full set of armour.
  6. 6
    The attempt to gain an end by legal process; a process instituted in a court of law for the recovery of a right or claim; a lawsuit.
  7. 7
    Petition, request, entreaty.
  8. 8
    The act of following or pursuing; pursuit, chase.
  9. 9
    Pursuit of a love-interest; wooing, courtship.
  10. 10
    The act of suing; the pursuit of a particular object or goal.
  11. 11
    The full set of sails required for a ship.
  12. 12
    Each of the sets of a pack of cards distinguished by colour and/or specific emblems, such as the spades, hearts, diamonds, or clubs of traditional Anglo, Hispanic, and French playing cards.
  13. 13
    Regular order; succession.
  14. 14
    A company of attendants or followers; a retinue.
  15. 15
    A group of similar or related objects or items considered as a whole; a suite (of rooms etc.)

Etymology

From Middle English sute, borrowed from Anglo-Norman suite and Old French sieute, siute (modern suite), originally a participle adjective from Vulgar Latin *sequita (for secūta), from Latin sequi (“to follow”), because the component garments "follow each other", i.e. are worn together. See also the doublet suite. Cognate with Italian seguire and Spanish seguir. Related to sue and segue.

This word in other languages

traje(Español)complet(Français)Anzug(Deutsch)terno(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: siut,ssuit,suitt,suti,usit

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of suit - 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.

siut2ssuit1suitt1suti2usit2
Edit distance from "suit"

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 "suit"?
"suit" is spelled S-U-I-T. The IPA pronunciation is /sjuːt/.
What does "suit" mean?
As a noun, "suit" means: A set of clothes to be worn together, now especially a man's matching jacket and trousers (also business suit or lounge suit), or a similar outfit for a woman.
What words are commonly confused with "suit"?
"suit" is commonly confused with "sun", "sum", "SUV". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "suit"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "suit" is /sjuːt/. 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 "suit"?
From Middle English sute, borrowed from Anglo-Norman suite and Old French sieute, siute (modern suite), originally a participle adjective from Vulgar Latin *sequita (for secūta), from Latin sequi (“to follow”), because the component garments "foll... 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 “suit”

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

  • The one correct English spelling is S-U-I-T - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /sjuːt/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “sun” - see the side-by-side comparison. suit vs sun
  • 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