amputate
/ˈæmpjʊteɪt/
"amputate" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“amputate” is an uncommon English word, ranked #58,501 in English word frequency and used as a verb.
- #58,501
- frequency rank, English
- 8
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - To cut off, to prune.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | amputate |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /ˈæmpjʊteɪt/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #58,501 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “amputate” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for amputate is 8 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈæmpjʊteɪt/. Corpus data places it at rank #58,501 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
amputate has no tracked misspelling variants, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Latin amputō (“prune, cut away”). The original sense of pruning (a tree, etc.) became obsolete. The OED considers uses related to anything other than an animal limb to be figurative uses of the modern sense. The correct English form is amputate, spelled A-M-P-U-T-A-T-E.
Definition
- 1To cut off, to prune.
- 2To surgically remove a part of the body, especially a limb.
Etymology
From Latin amputō (“prune, cut away”). The original sense of pruning (a tree, etc.) became obsolete. The OED considers uses related to anything other than an animal limb to be figurative uses of the modern sense.
This word in other languages
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
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Using “amputate”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is A-M-P-U-T-A-T-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈæmpjʊteɪt/ (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.