adroit

/əˈdɹɔɪt/

//əˈdɹɔɪt// adj

"adroit" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“adroit” is an uncommon English word, ranked #65,671 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.

#65,671
frequency rank, English
6
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - deft, dexterous, or skillful

Key facts for adroit
PropertyValue
Headwordadroit
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/əˈdɹɔɪt/
Letters6
Frequency rank#65,671
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “adroit” sits in English frequency

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

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for adroit is 6 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /əˈdɹɔɪt/. Corpus data places it at rank #65,671 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "deft, dexterous, or skillful".

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for adroit, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from French adroit, from French à (“on the; to”) (from Old French a (“to; towards”), from Latin ad (“to; towards”), from Proto-Indo-European *ád (“at; near”)) + French droit (“right”) (from Old French droit, dreit, from Late Latin drictus, syncopat… The correct English form is adroit, spelled A-D-R-O-I-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    deft, dexterous, or skillful

Etymology

Borrowed from French adroit, from French à (“on the; to”) (from Old French a (“to; towards”), from Latin ad (“to; towards”), from Proto-Indo-European *ád (“at; near”)) + French droit (“right”) (from Old French droit, dreit, from Late Latin drictus, syncopated form of Latin dīrēctus (“laid straight; direct, straight; level; upright”), perfective passive participle of dīrigō (“to lay straight”), from dis- (“apart, in two”) (from Proto-Indo-European *dwís (“twice; in two”)) + regō (“to govern, rule; to guide, steer”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₃réǵeti (“to be straightening, setting upright”))).

Synonyms

Antonyms

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 "adroit"?
"adroit" is spelled A-D-R-O-I-T. The IPA pronunciation is /əˈdɹɔɪt/.
What does "adroit" mean?
As an adjective, "adroit" means: deft, dexterous, or skillful
How do you pronounce "adroit"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "adroit" is /əˈdɹɔɪt/. 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 "adroit"?
Borrowed from French adroit, from French à (“on the; to”) (from Old French a (“to; towards”), from Latin ad (“to; towards”), from Proto-Indo-European *ád (“at; near”)) + French droit (“right”) (from Old French droit, dreit, from Late Latin drictus... 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.

Using “adroit”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is A-D-R-O-I-T - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /əˈdɹɔɪt/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list