three sheets in the wind

adj

"three-sheets-in-the-wind" is a 20-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“three sheets in the wind” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
24
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 2, 2026) - Drunk.

Corpus desk

Index EN-three-sheets-in-the-wind · three sheets in the wind · English

three sheets in the wind · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 24 letters
  • VOW-7 7 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "T" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

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.

Key facts for three sheets in the wind
PropertyValue
Headwordthree sheets in the wind
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
Letters24
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “three sheets in the wind” sits in English frequency

three sheets in the wind falls outside the top-100,000 ranked English words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

three sheets in the wind is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anadjective. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Drunk.".

No misspelling variants are generated for three sheets in the wind in our index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

Etymologically, the entry records: See three sheets to the wind. The correct English form is three sheets in the wind, spelled T-H-R-E-E- -S-H-E-E-T-S- -I-N- -T-H-E- -W-I-N-D.

Definition

  1. 1
    Drunk.

Etymology

See three sheets to the wind.

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 2, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "three sheets in the wind"?
"three sheets in the wind" is spelled T-H-R-E-E- -S-H-E-E-T-S- -I-N- -T-H-E- -W-I-N-D.
What does "three sheets in the wind" mean?
As an adjective, "three sheets in the wind" means: Drunk.
What is the origin of the word "three sheets in the wind"?
See three sheets to the wind. 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.
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list