sustenance
/ˈsʌs.tə.nəns/
"sustenance" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“sustenance” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #29,486 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #29,486
- frequency rank, English
- 10
- letters
- 16
- tracked misspellings
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Something that provides support or nourishment.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | sustenance |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈsʌs.tə.nəns/ |
| Letters | 10 |
| Frequency rank | #29,486 |
| Misspellings tracked | 16 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “sustenance” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for sustenance is 10 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈsʌs.tə.nəns/. Corpus data places it at rank #29,486 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "Something that provides support or nourishment.".
Our generated misspelling index lists 16 likely wrong-spelling variants for sustenance, with forms such as "ssustenance", "ssutenance", and "susetnance". 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. Our dataset records no confusable match here, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English sustenaunce, from Old French sustenance, from sustenir with the suffix -ance, from Vulgar Latin *sustenire, from Latin sustinere. Compare also Late Latin sustinentia. The correct English form is sustenance, spelled S-U-S-T-E-N-A-N-C-E.
Definition
- 1Something that provides support or nourishment.
Etymology
From Middle English sustenaunce, from Old French sustenance, from sustenir with the suffix -ance, from Vulgar Latin *sustenire, from Latin sustinere. Compare also Late Latin sustinentia.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: ssustenance,ssutenance,susetnance,susstenance,susteannce,sustenacne,sustenancce,sustenanec,sustenannce,sustenence,sustennace,sustennance,sustneance,susttenance,sutsenance,usstenance
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of sustenance - 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.
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 "sustenance"?
What does "sustenance" mean?
What are common misspellings of "sustenance"?
How do you pronounce "sustenance"?
What is the origin of the word "sustenance"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “sustenance”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is S-U-S-T-E-N-A-N-C-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈsʌs.tə.nəns/ (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
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.