symbol

/ˈsɪmbəl/

//ˈsɪmbəl// noun

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

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

The verdict

“symbol” has 10 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #4,274. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#4,274
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
10
tracked misspellings
4
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A character or glyph representing an idea, concept or object.

Corpus desk

Index EN-symbol · symbol · English

symbol · rank #4,274 · 10 variants · 4 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #4,274
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 4 pairs
  • VAR-MID 10 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH Stones

Nearest frequency peer: Stones (-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 “symbol”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “symbol” 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).

symbol vs symbols
86% similar
symbol vs symbolic
75% similar
symbol vs Sybil
50% similar

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

Key facts for symbol
PropertyValue
Headwordsymbol
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈsɪmbəl/
Letters6
Frequency rank#4,274
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs4
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “symbol”

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

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “Stones” (#4,273), “terminal” (#4,275), “steady” (#4,272). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “symbol” is #4,274. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 10 spelling variants around symbol (IPA /ˈsɪmbəl/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #4,274 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 9 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for symbol, with forms such as "smybol", "ssymbol", and "sybmol". 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 4 confusable-pair relationships, "symbols", "symbolic", "Sybil", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From French symbole, from Latin symbolus, symbolum (“a sign, mark, token, symbol, in Late Latin also a creed”), from Ancient Greek σύμβολον (súmbolon, “a sign by which one infers something; a mark, token, badge, ticket, tally, check, a signal, watchword, ou… The correct English form is symbol, spelled S-Y-M-B-O-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    A character or glyph representing an idea, concept or object.
  2. 2
    A thing considered the embodiment or cardinal exemplar of a concept, theme, or other thing.
  3. 3
    A type of noun whereby the form refers to the same entity independently of the context; a symbol arbitrarily denotes a referent. See also icon and index.
  4. 4
    A summary of a dogmatic statement of faith.
  5. 5
    The numerical expression which defines a plane's position relative to the assumed axes.
  6. 6
    That which is thrown into a common fund; hence, an appointed or accustomed duty.
  7. 7
    Share; allotment.
  8. 8
    An internal identifier used by a debugger to relate parts of the compiled program to the corresponding names in the source code.
  9. 9
    A signalling event on a communications channel; a signal that cannot be further divided into meaningful information.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. "$" is the symbol for dollars in the US and some other countries.
  2. Chinese people use word symbols for writing.

Etymology

From French symbole, from Latin symbolus, symbolum (“a sign, mark, token, symbol, in Late Latin also a creed”), from Ancient Greek σύμβολον (súmbolon, “a sign by which one infers something; a mark, token, badge, ticket, tally, check, a signal, watchword, outward sign”), from συμβάλλω (sumbállō, “to throw together, dash together, compare, correspond, tally, come to a conclusion”), from σύν (sún, “with, together”) + βάλλω (bállō, “to throw, put”).

This word in other languages

símbolo(Español)symbole(Français)Symbol(Deutsch)símbolo(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • smybol
  • ssymbol
  • sybmol
  • symbbol
  • symblo
  • symboll
  • symmbol
  • symobl
  • syymbol
  • ysmbol

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

smybol2ssymbol1sybmol2symbbol1symblo2symboll1symmbol1symobl2
Edit distance from "symbol"

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 "symbol"?
"symbol" is spelled S-Y-M-B-O-L. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈsɪmbəl/.
What does "symbol" mean?
As a noun, "symbol" means: A character or glyph representing an idea, concept or object.
What words are commonly confused with "symbol"?
"symbol" is commonly confused with "symbols", "symbolic", "Sybil". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "symbol"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "symbol" is /ˈsɪmbəl/. 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 "symbol"?
From French symbole, from Latin symbolus, symbolum (“a sign, mark, token, symbol, in Late Latin also a creed”), from Ancient Greek σύμβολον (súmbolon, “a sign by which one infers something; a mark, token, badge, ticket, tally, check, a signal, wat... 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 "symbol", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

Stones#4,273steady#4,272toilet#4,276treaty#4,277

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (10 here; floor ≥5).

Vietnam10 variantsfailing10 variantsfortune10 variantsgoodbye10 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list