system

Name: system, English Word Data
Creator: Wiktionary
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

/ˈsɪstəm/

//ˈsɪstəm// noun

By PlainSpell · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) · analyzed September 3, 2026

The verdict

“system” has 10 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #249. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#249
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 group or set of related things that operate together as a complex whole.

Corpus desk

Index EN-system · system · English

system · rank #249 · 10 variants · 4 confusables

FREQ-CORE #249
LEN-LONG 6 letters
VOW-2 2 vowels
CONFUS-MID 4 pairs
VAR-MID 10 variants
BOOK-DENSE 6,566
PHOTO-FINISH start

Nearest frequency peer: start (-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.

business

99,755
care

99,754
start

99,753
system

99,752
times

99,751
week

99,750

What this shows “system” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

system vs systems

86% similar

system vs systemic

75% similar

system vs stem

67% similar

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

Key facts for system
Property	Value
Headword	system
Language	English
Part of speech	Noun
IPA	/ˈsɪstəm/
Letters	6
Frequency rank	#249
Misspellings tracked	10
Confusable pairs	4
Source	Wiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “system”

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).systemlands here:

#249

#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 “start” (#248), “times” (#250), “care” (#247). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “system” is #249. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 10 spelling variants around system (IPA /ˈsɪstəm/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #249 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 12 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for system, with forms such as "ssystem", "ssytem", and "sysetm". 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 4 confusable-pair relationships, "systems", "systemic", "stem", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: Partly borrowed from Middle French sisteme, systeme, partly directly from its etymon Late Latin systēma (“harmony; musical scale; set of celestial objects; set of troops; system”), from Ancient Greek σύστημα (sústēma, “musical scale; organized body; whole m… The correct English form is system, spelled S-Y-S-T-E-M.

Definition

1
A group or set of related things that operate together as a complex whole.
2
A group or set of related things that operate together as a complex whole.
3
A group or set of related things that operate together as a complex whole.
4
A group or set of related things that operate together as a complex whole.
5
A group or set of related things that operate together as a complex whole.
6
A group or set of related things that operate together as a complex whole.
7
A group or set of related things that operate together as a complex whole.
8
A group or set of related things that operate together as a complex whole.
9
A group or set of related things that operate together as a complex whole.
10
A group or set of related things that operate together as a complex whole.
11
A group or set of related things that operate together as a complex whole.
12
A method or way of organizing or planning.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

Every age has its characteristic, and our present one is not behind its predecessors in that respect; it is the age of systems, every system enforced by a treatise. The politician who opposes the corn-laws and advocates free trade, does so on a system, which, as soon as it begins to work, will set the civilized world to rights.
The bass and treble clefs combined, include all the sounds belonging to our musical system, as they appear on a 6½-octave pianoforte, extending from C C C in the bass to F in altissimo.

Etymology

Partly borrowed from Middle French sisteme, systeme, partly directly from its etymon Late Latin systēma (“harmony; musical scale; set of celestial objects; set of troops; system”), from Ancient Greek σύστημα (sústēma, “musical scale; organized body; whole made of several parts or members”), from σῠνίστημῐ (sŭnístēmĭ, “to combine, organize”) + -μᾰ (-mă, resultative suffix). σῠνίστημῐ is from σῠν- (sŭn-, “with, together”) + ἵστημι (hístēmi, “to stand”), from Proto-Indo-European *steh₂- (“to stand (up)”). Cognate with Dutch systeem, modern French système, German System, Italian sistema, Portuguese sistema, Spanish sistema. Doublet of systema.

This word in other languages

sistema(Español)système(Français)System(Deutsch)sistema(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

ssystem
ssytem
sysetm
sysstem
systemm
systme
systtem
sytsem
syystem
ysstem

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of system - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

Edit distance from "system"

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 "system"?

"system" is spelled S-Y-S-T-E-M. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈsɪstəm/.

What does "system" mean?

As a noun, "system" means: A group or set of related things that operate together as a complex whole.

What words are commonly confused with "system"?

"system" is commonly confused with "systems", "systemic", "stem". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.

How do you pronounce "system"?

The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "system" is /ˈsɪstəm/. 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 "system"?

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 "system", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

public#243 person#257 change#259 enough#260

Similar misspelling depth

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

business10 variants already10 variants looking10 variants however10 variants