administer
/ədˈmɪn.ɪ.stɚ/verb
administer is spelled A-D-M-I-N-I-S-T-E-R. The wrong spelling people search most is administr: about 50 Bing searches a month in the United States (September 2025 to August 2026), about 1 in 24 of all searches for the word. Administer is a verb meaning “To apportion out, distribute”.
How many letters and syllables are in administer?
| Letters | 10: A-D-M-I-N-I-S-T-E-R |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 3.5 times per million words; the 14,106th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | 1; the most searched, administr, about 50 Bing searches a month (all of them) |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How do you spell administer?
Administer is spelled A-D-M-I-N-I-S-T-E-R. One wrong spelling is searched or written often enough to measure; together they are about 1 in 24 of the searches for administer in either form.
Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026). Wrong spellings are taken from Wiktionary entries tagged "misspelling" and its obsolete or nonstandard forms, Wikipedia's Lists of common misspellings and the codespell dictionary, then measured. The proofreader's marks show the change that corrects each one.
How common is administer?
Administer appears 3.5 times per million words in written English, the 14,106th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce administer?
- UK /ədˈmɪn.ɪ.stə/
- US /ədˈmɪn.ɪ.stɚ/
Administer has 4 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-administer.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with administer?
One word on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as administer from its last stressed vowel (/ɪnɪstəɹ/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of administer
- administers present, singular, he/she/it
- administering participle, present
- administered participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does administer mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To apportion out, distribute.
- 2
To manage or supervise the conduct, performance or execution of; to govern or regulate the parameters for the conduct, performance or execution of; to work in an administrative capacity.
- 3
To minister (to).
administering to the sick
- 4
To settle, as the estate of one who dies without a will, or whose will fails of an executor.
- 5
To give, as an oath.
- 6
To give (a drug, to a patient), be it orally or by any other means.
We administered the medicine to our dog by mixing it in his food.
- 7
To cause (a patient, human or animal) to ingest (a drug), either by openly offering or through deceit.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Administer in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | administrer , gérer |
| German | darreichen, verabreichen , verwalten, administrieren , reichen , intravenös applizieren |
| Portuguese | ministrar, administrar, aplicar |
| Spanish | administrar , perfundir |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does administer come from?
From Middle English administren, from Old French aminister, from Latin administrare (“to manage, execute”), from ad (“to”) + ministrare (“to attend, serve”), from minister (“servant”); see minister.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).