alumnus
/əˈlʌmnəs/
"alumnus" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“alumnus” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #32,270 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #32,270
- frequency rank, English
- 7
- letters
- 10
- tracked misspellings
- 2
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A male pupil or student.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | alumnus |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /əˈlʌmnəs/ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Frequency rank | #32,270 |
| Misspellings tracked | 10 |
| Confusable pairs | 2 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “alumnus” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for alumnus is 7 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /əˈlʌmnəs/. Corpus data places it at rank #32,270 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 4 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for alumnus, with forms such as "allumnus", "almunus", and "alummnus". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 2 confusable-pair relationships, "alumni", "aluminum", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: Learned borrowing from Latin alumnus (“foster child, nourished one”). The correct English form is alumnus, spelled A-L-U-M-N-U-S.
Definition
- 1A male pupil or student.
- 2A male graduate.
- 3A student of any gender.
- 4A graduate of any gender.
Etymology
Learned borrowing from Latin alumnus (“foster child, nourished one”).
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: allumnus,almunus,alummnus,alumnnus,alumnsu,alumnuss,alumuns,alunmus,aulmnus,laumnus
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of alumnus - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
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 "alumnus"?
What does "alumnus" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "alumnus"?
How do you pronounce "alumnus"?
What is the origin of the word "alumnus"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “alumnus”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is A-L-U-M-N-U-S - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /əˈlʌmnəs/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “alumni” - see the side-by-side comparison. alumnus vs alumni
- 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.