sweepstake

/ˈswiːpsteɪk/

//ˈswiːpsteɪk// noun

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

"sweepstake" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“sweepstake” is uncommon English (frequency #97,608 among 6,566 “S” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#97,608
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A lottery in which the prize or prizes constitute all the money paid by the participants.

Corpus desk

Index EN-sweepstake · sweepstake · English

sweepstake · rank #97,608 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #97,608
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH swayamsevak

Nearest frequency peer: swayamsevak (-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.

Long-tail ranks near “sweepstake”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “sweepstake” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for sweepstake
PropertyValue
Headwordsweepstake
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈswiːpsteɪk/
Letters10
Frequency rank#97,608
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “sweepstake” in English

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).sweepstakefalls in this rarity band:

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Rare peers in the same band: “swayamsevak” (#97,607), “Swaine” (#97,606), “sylph” (#97,611). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “sweepstake” is #97,608. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

sweepstake is uncommon English at frequency #97,608 among 6,566 “S” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈswiːpsteɪk/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for sweepstake, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: From sweep + stake. The correct English form is sweepstake, spelled S-W-E-E-P-S-T-A-K-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A lottery in which the prize or prizes constitute all the money paid by the participants.
  2. 2
    A prize draw.

Etymology

From sweep + stake.

This word in other languages

rifa(Español)rifa(Português)

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 "sweepstake"?
"sweepstake" is spelled S-W-E-E-P-S-T-A-K-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈswiːpsteɪk/.
What does "sweepstake" mean?
As a noun, "sweepstake" means: A lottery in which the prize or prizes constitute all the money paid by the participants.
How do you pronounce "sweepstake"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "sweepstake" is /ˈswiːpsteɪk/. 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 "sweepstake"?
From sweep + stake. 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 "sweepstake", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 10 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

stylesheet#97,589touchingly#97,637unredacted#97,667unscrewing#97,668

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list