swindle
/ˈswɪnd(ə)l/
"swindle" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“swindle” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #43,401 in English word frequency and used as a verb.
- #43,401
- frequency rank, English
- 7
- letters
- 11
- tracked misspellings
- 5
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - To defraud.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | swindle |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /ˈswɪnd(ə)l/ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Frequency rank | #43,401 |
| Misspellings tracked | 11 |
| Confusable pairs | 5 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “swindle” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for swindle is 7 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈswɪnd(ə)l/. Corpus data places it at rank #43,401 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for swindle, with forms such as "siwndle", "sswindle", and "swidnle". 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 5 confusable-pair relationships, "swine", "Swindon", "single", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: Back-formation from swindler, from German Schwindler, from German schwindeln, from Middle High German swindeln, swindelen, from Old High German swintilōn, frequentative of the verb swintan, from Proto-West Germanic *swindan (“to diminish”). See also Modern … The correct English form is swindle, spelled S-W-I-N-D-L-E.
Definition
- 1To defraud.
- 2To obtain (money or property) by fraudulent or deceitful methods.
- 3For a player in a losing position to play a clever move that provokes an error from the opponent, thus achieving a win or a draw.
Etymology
Back-formation from swindler, from German Schwindler, from German schwindeln, from Middle High German swindeln, swindelen, from Old High German swintilōn, frequentative of the verb swintan, from Proto-West Germanic *swindan (“to diminish”). See also Modern German schwindeln, Danish svindel and svindle, Dutch zwindelen and zwendelen, Yiddish שווינדל (shvindl), Low German swinneln, Middle English swinden (“to languish, waste away”).
Synonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: siwndle,sswindle,swidnle,swinddle,swindel,swindlle,swinlde,swinndle,swnidle,swwindle,wsindle
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of swindle - 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
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Using “swindle”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is S-W-I-N-D-L-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈswɪnd(ə)l/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “swine” - see the side-by-side comparison. swindle vs swine
- 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.