adapter

/əˈdæptə(ɹ)/

//əˈdæptə(ɹ)// noun

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

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

The verdict

“adapter” has 10 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #12,898. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#12,898
frequency rank, English
3,931
“A” headwords
10
tracked misspellings
5
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - One who is capable of adapting to differing situations.

Corpus desk

Index EN-adapter · adapter · English

adapter · rank #12,898 · 10 variants · 5 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #12,898
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 5 pairs
  • VAR-MID 10 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,931
  • PHOTO-FINISH accusation

Nearest frequency peer: accusation (-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 “adapter”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “adapter” 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).

adapter vs adopted
71% similar
adapter vs adaptor
86% similar
adapter vs adopter
86% similar

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

Key facts for adapter
PropertyValue
Headwordadapter
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/əˈdæptə(ɹ)/
Letters7
Frequency rank#12,898
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs5
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “adapter”

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).adapterlands here:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “accusation” (#12,897), “adjustable” (#12,899), “adulthood” (#12,900). Among 3,931 “A” headwords, “adapter” is #12,898. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 10 spelling variants around adapter (IPA /əˈdæptə(ɹ)/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #12,898 among 3,931 “A” headwords. Wiktionary lists 7 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for adapter, with forms such as "aadpter", "adapetr", and "adappter". 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 5 confusable-pair relationships, "adopted", "adaptor", "adopter", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From adapt + -er. The correct English form is adapter, spelled A-D-A-P-T-E-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    One who is capable of adapting to differing situations.
  2. 2
    One who adapts a thing, e.g. a play.
  3. 3
    A device or application used to achieve operative compatibility between devices that otherwise are incompatible.
  4. 4
    A device or application used to achieve operative compatibility between devices that otherwise are incompatible.
  5. 5
    A device or application used to achieve operative compatibility between devices that otherwise are incompatible.
  6. 6
    A device or application used to achieve operative compatibility between devices that otherwise are incompatible.
  7. 7
    A collection of low-rank matrices which, when added to a base model, produces a fine-tuned model; a LoRA.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. He was an able adapter, and could easily adjust to the differences when the company changed ownership.
  2. The critic gave rave reviews to the adapter of the ancient play, who worked to give the text more relevance to the modern day.

Etymology

From adapt + -er.

This word in other languages

adaptador(Español)adaptateur(Français)Adapter(Deutsch)T(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • aadpter
  • adapetr
  • adappter
  • adapterr
  • adaptre
  • adaptter
  • adatper
  • addapter
  • adpater
  • daapter

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of adapter - 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.

aadpter2adapetr2adappter1adapterr1adaptre2adaptter1adatper2addapter1
Edit distance from "adapter"

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 "adapter"?
"adapter" is spelled A-D-A-P-T-E-R. The IPA pronunciation is /əˈdæptə(ɹ)/.
What does "adapter" mean?
As a noun, "adapter" means: One who is capable of adapting to differing situations.
What words are commonly confused with "adapter"?
"adapter" is commonly confused with "adopted", "adaptor", "adopter". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "adapter"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "adapter" is /əˈdæptə(ɹ)/. 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 "adapter"?
From adapt + -er. 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 "adapter", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

allergy#12,905Bedford#12,914bourbon#12,924breaker#12,925

Similar misspelling depth

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

careless10 variantsSnyder10 variantscrypto10 variantsdebated10 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list