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amsterdam

Definition, pronunciation, etymology, and usage for the English word. Free spelling reference powered by Wiktionary.

Detailed reference entry for the English word "amsterdam", 9-letters, with pronunciation in International Phonetic Alphabet notation, etymology traced through Germanic and Romance roots where applicable, common misspelling variants catalogued from Wiktionary, and usage frequency ranked against an open word-frequency list covering the top 100,000 English words. PlainSpell covers English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German spelling with confusable-pair detection that highlights visually and phonetically similar words. This entry for "amsterdam" includes synonyms, antonyms, homophones, and cross-language translation pointers sourced from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org extract. Whether you are verifying the correct spelling of "amsterdam" for academic writing, checking homophone confusion, or exploring etymological origins, this page provides a citation-backed, free reference that requires no sign-up.

The verdict

“Amsterdam” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #6,758 in English word frequency and used as a proper noun.

#6,758
frequency rank, English
9
letters
14
tracked misspellings

Dominant Wiktionary sense: A city and municipality of North Holland, Netherlands; the capital city of the Netherlands.

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Key facts for Amsterdam
PropertyValue
HeadwordAmsterdam
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechProper noun
IPA/ˌæmstəˈdæm/
Letters9
Frequency rank#6,758
Misspellings tracked14
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “Amsterdam” 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). Amsterdam 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 Amsterdam is 9 letters long, classified as a proper noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˌæmstəˈdæm/. Corpus data places it at rank #6,758 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 14 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 14 likely wrong-spelling variants for Amsterdam, with forms such as "ammsterdam", "amsetrdam", and "amssterdam". 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 is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Dutch Amsterdam. Root origin matters for spelling because borrowed morphemes (Greek, Latin, Old French, Old English) carry their source-language orthographic conventions into modern English, which is why historical etymology is often the cleanest predictor of whether a cluster like "-ough", "-eau", or "-tion" will appear. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct English form is Amsterdam, spelled A-M-S-T-E-R-D-A-M, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

Definition

  1. 1
    A city and municipality of North Holland, Netherlands; the capital city of the Netherlands.
  2. 2
    A number of places in the United States, most being named after the Dutch city:
  3. 3
    A number of places in the United States, most being named after the Dutch city:
  4. 4
    A number of places in the United States, most being named after the Dutch city:
  5. 5
    A number of places in the United States, most being named after the Dutch city:
  6. 6
    A number of places in the United States, most being named after the Dutch city:
  7. 7
    A number of places in the United States, most being named after the Dutch city:
  8. 8
    A number of places in the United States, most being named after the Dutch city:
  9. 9
    A number of places in the United States, most being named after the Dutch city:
  10. 10
    A number of places in the United States, most being named after the Dutch city:
  11. 11
    A number of places in the United States, most being named after the Dutch city:
  12. 12
    A number of places in the United States, most being named after the Dutch city:
  13. 13
    A hamlet in the Rural Municipality of Buchanan, Saskatchewan, Canada.
  14. 14
    A town in Mpumalanga province, South Africa.

Etymology

Borrowed from Dutch Amsterdam.

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: ammsterdam,amsetrdam,amssterdam,amstedram,amsteradm,amsterdamm,amsterddam,amsterdma,amsterrdam,amstredam,amstterdam,amtserdam,asmterdam,masterdam

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of Amsterdam — measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

Edit distance from "Amsterdam"

ammsterdam1amsetrdam2amssterdam1amstedram2amsteradm2amsterdamm1amsterddam1amsterdma2
Edit distance from "Amsterdam"

Frequency rank: #6,758 in English

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "Amsterdam"?
"Amsterdam" is spelled A-M-S-T-E-R-D-A-M. The IPA pronunciation is /ˌæmstəˈdæm/.
What does "Amsterdam" mean?
As a proper noun, "Amsterdam" means: A city and municipality of North Holland, Netherlands; the capital city of the Netherlands.
What are common misspellings of "Amsterdam"?
Common misspellings include "ammsterdam", "amsetrdam", "amssterdam", "amstedram", "amsteradm". The correct spelling is "Amsterdam".
How do you pronounce "Amsterdam"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Amsterdam" is /ˌæmstəˈdæm/. 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 "Amsterdam"?
Borrowed from Dutch Amsterdam. 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 “Amsterdam”

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

  • The one correct English spelling is A-M-S-T-E-R-D-A-M — every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /ˌæmstəˈdæm/ (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

Nearby English words

Other entries that begin with the letter A in our English index:

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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.