actuary

/ˈæktʃuˌɛɹi/

//ˈæktʃuˌɛɹi// noun

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

"actuary" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“actuary” is uncommon English (frequency #52,757 among 3,931 “A” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#52,757
frequency rank, English
3,931
“A” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Registrar, clerk.

Corpus desk

Index EN-actuary · actuary · English

actuary · rank #52,757 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #52,757
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,931
  • PHOTO-FINISH achiever

Nearest frequency peer: achiever (-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.

Long-tail ranks near “actuary”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “actuary” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for actuary
PropertyValue
Headwordactuary
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈæktʃuˌɛɹi/
Letters7
Frequency rank#52,757
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “actuary” in English

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

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “achiever” (#52,756), “adagio” (#52,758), “accrual” (#52,755). Among 3,931 “A” headwords, “actuary” is #52,757. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

actuary is uncommon English at frequency #52,757 among 3,931 “A” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈæktʃuˌɛɹi/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for actuary, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Latin āctuārius (“copyist, account-keeper”), from āctus (“public business”); see actuarius. The correct English form is actuary, spelled A-C-T-U-A-R-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    Registrar, clerk.
  2. 2
    A professional who calculates financial values associated with uncertain events subject to risk, such as insurance premiums or pension contributions.

Etymology

From Latin āctuārius (“copyist, account-keeper”), from āctus (“public business”); see actuarius.

This word in other languages

actuario(Español)actuaire(Français)Versicherungsmathematiker(Deutsch)

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 "actuary"?
"actuary" is spelled A-C-T-U-A-R-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈæktʃuˌɛɹi/.
What does "actuary" mean?
As a noun, "actuary" means: Registrar, clerk.
How do you pronounce "actuary"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "actuary" is /ˈæktʃuˌɛɹi/. 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 "actuary"?
From Latin āctuārius (“copyist, account-keeper”), from āctus (“public business”); see actuarius. 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 "actuary", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

accrual#52,755aircrew#52,760Airdrie#52,761airmail#52,762

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list