syrup

/ˈsɪ.ɹəp/

//ˈsɪ.ɹəp// noun

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

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

The verdict

“syrup” has 8 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #10,290. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#10,290
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
8
tracked misspellings
15
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Any thick liquid that has a high sugar content and which is added to or poured over food as a flavoring.

Corpus desk

Index EN-syrup · syrup · English

syrup · rank #10,290 · 8 variants · 15 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #10,290
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 15 pairs
  • VAR-MID 8 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH swords

Nearest frequency peer: swords (-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 “syrup”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “syrup” 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).

syrup vs sup
60% similar
syrup vs soup
60% similar
syrup vs Syria
40% similar

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

Key facts for syrup
PropertyValue
Headwordsyrup
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈsɪ.ɹəp/
Letters5
Frequency rank#10,290
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs15
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “syrup”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).syruplands 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 “swords” (#10,289), “tackles” (#10,291), “Sussex” (#10,288). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “syrup” is #10,290. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 8 spelling variants around syrup (IPA /ˈsɪ.ɹəp/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #10,290 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for syrup, with forms such as "sryup", "ssyrup", and "syrpu". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 15 confusable-pair relationships, "sup", "soup", "Syria", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English sirup, from Old French sirop, from Medieval Latin siruppus, syrupus, from Arabic شَرَاب (šarāb, “a drink, beverage, wine, coffee, syrup”), from شَرِبَ (šariba, “to drink”). Doublet of sirop. Related to sorbet, sherbet, sharbat. Compare F… The correct English form is syrup, spelled S-Y-R-U-P.

Definition

  1. 1
    Any thick liquid that has a high sugar content and which is added to or poured over food as a flavoring.
  2. 2
    Any viscous liquid.
  3. 3
    Anything overly sweet or sentimental.
  4. 4
    A wig.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. pancake syrup
  2. peaches in syrup

Etymology

From Middle English sirup, from Old French sirop, from Medieval Latin siruppus, syrupus, from Arabic شَرَاب (šarāb, “a drink, beverage, wine, coffee, syrup”), from شَرِبَ (šariba, “to drink”). Doublet of sirop. Related to sorbet, sherbet, sharbat. Compare French sirop, Italian siroppo, sciroppo, Spanish jarabe, jarope, Portuguese xarope, and Dutch siroop and stroop. The first known use of the spelling sirup was in the 14th century.

This word in other languages

almíbar(Español)sirop(Français)Sirup(Deutsch)xarope(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • sryup
  • ssyrup
  • syrpu
  • syrrup
  • syrupp
  • syurp
  • syyrup
  • ysrup

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

sryup2ssyrup1syrpu2syrrup1syrupp1syurp2syyrup1ysrup2
Edit distance from "syrup"

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 "syrup"?
"syrup" is spelled S-Y-R-U-P. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈsɪ.ɹəp/.
What does "syrup" mean?
As a noun, "syrup" means: Any thick liquid that has a high sugar content and which is added to or poured over food as a flavoring.
What words are commonly confused with "syrup"?
"syrup" is commonly confused with "sup", "soup", "Syria". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "syrup"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "syrup" is /ˈsɪ.ɹəp/. 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 "syrup"?
From Middle English sirup, from Old French sirop, from Medieval Latin siruppus, syrupus, from Arabic شَرَاب (šarāb, “a drink, beverage, wine, coffee, syrup”), from شَرِبَ (šariba, “to drink”). Doublet of sirop. Related to sorbet, sherbet, sharbat.... 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 "syrup", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

Tamil#10,292tones#10,297traps#10,300scars#10,273

Similar misspelling depth

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

tapping8 variantsTories8 variantsvoiced8 variantspinch8 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list