sword

[sɔɹd]

/[sɔɹd]/ noun

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

"sword" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“sword” has 8 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #3,852. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#3,852
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
8
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A long bladed weapon with a grip and typically a pommel and crossguard (together forming a hilt), which is designed to cut, stab, slash and/or hack.

Corpus desk

Index EN-sword · sword · English

sword · rank #3,852 · 8 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #3,852
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 8 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH survival

Nearest frequency peer: survival (-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 “sword”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “sword” 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).

sword vs swot
60% similar
sword vs sworn
80% similar
sword vs swore
80% similar

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

Key facts for sword
PropertyValue
Headwordsword
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA[sɔɹd]
Letters5
Frequency rank#3,852
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “sword”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).swordlands here:

#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. Same rarity band neighbours include “survival” (#3,851), “tongue” (#3,853), “summary” (#3,850). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “sword” is #3,852. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 8 spelling variants around sword (IPA [sɔɹd]), anoun. Corpus frequency is #3,852 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 5 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for sword, with forms such as "sowrd", "ssword", and "swodr". 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, "swot", "sworn", "swore", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: Inherited from West Midland Middle English sword (swerd in most dialects), from Old English sweord (“sword”), from Proto-West Germanic *swerd (“sword”), from Proto-Germanic *swerdą (“sword”), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *seh₂w- (“sharp”). Cognates Cog… The correct English form is sword, spelled S-W-O-R-D.

Definition

  1. 1
    A long bladed weapon with a grip and typically a pommel and crossguard (together forming a hilt), which is designed to cut, stab, slash and/or hack.
  2. 2
    A suit in certain playing card decks, particularly those used in Spain and Italy, or those used for divination.
  3. 3
    A suit in certain playing card decks, particularly those used in Spain and Italy, or those used for divination.
  4. 4
    One of the end bars by which the lay of a hand loom is suspended.
  5. 5
    Violence; military might.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how sword appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. He took out his sword and stabbed the man in the stomach.
  2. Malicious tunges, though they have no bones, Are ſharper then ſwordes, ſturdier then ſtones.

Etymology

Inherited from West Midland Middle English sword (swerd in most dialects), from Old English sweord (“sword”), from Proto-West Germanic *swerd (“sword”), from Proto-Germanic *swerdą (“sword”), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *seh₂w- (“sharp”). Cognates Cognate with North Frisian Swērt, Swiirt, swörd (“sword”), Saterland Frisian Swid, Swäid (“sword”), West Frisian swurd (“sword”), Dutch zwaard (“sword”), German Schwert (“sword”), Luxembourgish Schwäert (“sword”), Vilamovian świert (“sword”), Yiddish שווערד (shverd, “sword”), Danish sværd (“sword”), Faroese svørð (“sword”), Icelandic sverð (“sword”), Norn svird (“small longish object”), Norwegian Bokmål sverd (“sword”), Norwegian Nynorsk sverd, svørd (“sword”), Swedish svärd (“sword”); also Belarusian све́рдзел (svjérdzjel, “drill, drill bit”), Bulgarian свре́дел (svrédel, “drill, drill bit”), Czech svider (“drill bit”), Polish świder (“drill”), Russian сверло́ (sverló, “auger, bore, drill, drill bit”), Serbo-Croatian свр̏дло, svȑdlo (“auger”), Slovene sveder (“drill”), Ukrainian све́рдел (svérdel), све́рдло (svérdlo, “drill bit”).

Synonyms

sword

This word in other languages

espada(Español)épée(Français)Schwert(Deutsch)espada(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • sowrd
  • ssword
  • swodr
  • swordd
  • sworrd
  • swrod
  • swword
  • wsord

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

sowrd2ssword1swodr2swordd1sworrd1swrod2swword1wsord2
Edit distance from "sword"

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 "sword"?
"sword" is spelled S-W-O-R-D. The IPA pronunciation is [sɔɹd].
What does "sword" mean?
As a noun, "sword" means: A long bladed weapon with a grip and typically a pommel and crossguard (together forming a hilt), which is designed to cut, stab, slash and/or hack.
What words are commonly confused with "sword"?
"sword" is commonly confused with "swot", "sworn", "swore". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "sword"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "sword" is [sɔɹd]. 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 "sword"?
Inherited from West Midland Middle English sword (swerd in most dialects), from Old English sweord (“sword”), from Proto-West Germanic *swerd (“sword”), from Proto-Germanic *swerdą (“sword”), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *seh₂w- (“sharp”). Co... 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 "sword", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

spell#3,849waves#3,855Wayne#3,856scary#3,845

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (8 here; floor ≥5).

tongue8 variantsargued8 variantsasleep8 variantsAustin8 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list