sweeps

noun

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

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

The verdict

“sweeps” has 9 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #18,709. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#18,709
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
9
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The Nielsen ratings used to measure television show viewership several times a year.

Corpus desk

Index EN-sweeps · sweeps · English

sweeps · rank #18,709 · 9 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #18,709
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 9 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH swam

Nearest frequency peer: swam (-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 “sweeps”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “sweeps” 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).

sweeps vs sweet
67% similar
sweeps vs swept
67% similar
sweeps vs sweets
83% similar

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

Key facts for sweeps
PropertyValue
Headwordsweeps
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters6
Frequency rank#18,709
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “sweeps”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).sweepslands here:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “swam” (#18,708), “syllabus” (#18,710), “subpoena” (#18,707). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “sweeps” is #18,709. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 9 spelling variants around sweeps, anoun. Corpus frequency is #18,709 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Dominant gloss: "The Nielsen ratings used to measure television show viewership several times a year.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for sweeps, with forms such as "seweps", "ssweeps", and "sweepps". 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, "sweet", "swept", "sweets", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From sweep + -s (pluralia tantum suffix). The correct English form is sweeps, spelled S-W-E-E-P-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    The Nielsen ratings used to measure television show viewership several times a year.

Etymology

From sweep + -s (pluralia tantum suffix).

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • seweps
  • ssweeps
  • sweepps
  • sweepss
  • sweesp
  • swepes
  • sweps
  • swweeps
  • wseeps

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

seweps2ssweeps1sweepps1sweepss1sweesp2swepes2sweps1swweeps1
Edit distance from "sweeps"

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 "sweeps"?
"sweeps" is spelled S-W-E-E-P-S.
What does "sweeps" mean?
As a noun, "sweeps" means: The Nielsen ratings used to measure television show viewership several times a year.
What words are commonly confused with "sweeps"?
"sweeps" is commonly confused with "sweet", "swept", "sweets". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
What is the origin of the word "sweeps"?
From sweep + -s (pluralia tantum suffix). 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 "sweeps", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

Tyrone#18,722sinful#18,694Salman#18,685washer#18,734

Similar misspelling depth

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

rocker9 variantsridley9 variantsrector9 variantsadditive9 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list