# symptom

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈsɪm(p)təm/ · frequency rank #12,340

## Definitions
1. A perceived change in some function, sensation or appearance of a person that indicates a disease or disorder, such as fever, headache or rash; strictly, a symptom is felt or experienced by the patient, while a sign can be detected by an observer.
2. A signal; anything that indicates, or is characteristic of, the presence of something else, especially of something undesirable.

## Etymology
From Ancient Greek σύμπτωμα (súmptōma, “a happening, accident, symptom of disease”), from stem of συμπίπτω (sumpíptō, “Ι befall”), from συν- (sun-, “together”) + πίπτω (píptō, “to fall”).

## Easily confused with
- **symptoms** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/symptom-vs-symptoms)

## Common misspellings (12)
`smyptom`, `ssymptom`, `symmptom`, `sympotm`, `sympptom`, `symptmo`, `symptomm`, `sympttom`, `symtpom`, `sypmtom`, `syymptom`, `ysmptom`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/symptom