armature

/ˈɑː.mə.tjʊə/

//ˈɑː.mə.tjʊə// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"armature" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“armature” is uncommon English (frequency #50,362 among 3,931 “A” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#50,362
frequency rank, English
3,931
“A” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A detachment of soldiers; soldiers collectively.

Corpus desk

Index EN-armature · armature · English

armature · rank #50,362 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #50,362
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,931
  • PHOTO-FINISH Arians

Nearest frequency peer: Arians (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Long-tail ranks near “armature”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “armature” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for armature
PropertyValue
Headwordarmature
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈɑː.mə.tjʊə/
Letters8
Frequency rank#50,362
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “armature” in English

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

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Rare peers in the same band: “Arians” (#50,361), “attests” (#50,364), “appraise” (#50,359). Among 3,931 “A” headwords, “armature” is #50,362. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

armature is uncommon English at frequency #50,362 among 3,931 “A” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈɑː.mə.tjʊə/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 11 senses are on record.

armature has no tracked misspelling variants, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Middle French armature, from Latin armātūra (“armour”). Doublet of armor and armure. The correct English form is armature, spelled A-R-M-A-T-U-R-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A detachment of soldiers; soldiers collectively.
  2. 2
    Armor, such as a suit of armor, weapons and other military equipment.
  3. 3
    The art of using arms and armour in combat; skill at arms; a mode or manner of armed combat.
  4. 4
    The rotating part of an electric motor or dynamo, which mostly consists of coils of wire (the winding) around a metal core.
  5. 5
    The moving part in an electromechanical device like a loudspeaker or a buzzer.
  6. 6
    A piece of soft steel or iron that connects the poles of a magnet, to preserve its strength by forming a circuit.
  7. 7
    A supporting framework in a sculpture.
  8. 8
    A kinematic chain (a system of bones or rigid bodies connected by joints) that is used to pose and deform models, often character models.
  9. 9
    A protective organ, structure, or covering of an animal or plant, for defense or offense, like claws, teeth, thorns, or the shell of a turtle.
  10. 10
    Any apparatus for defence.
  11. 11
    The frame of a pair of glasses.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

These source excerpts show how armature appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. It can take pictures or video from a front-facing camera, controlled by a voice command or a swipe on the right-hand armature, and is designed to display at-a-glance information on its screen which is visible only to the user.

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle French armature, from Latin armātūra (“armour”). Doublet of armor and armure.

This word in other languages

inducido(Español)armature(Français)Anker(Deutsch)armadura(Português)

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 "armature"?
"armature" is spelled A-R-M-A-T-U-R-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈɑː.mə.tjʊə/.
What does "armature" mean?
As a noun, "armature" means: A detachment of soldiers; soldiers collectively.
How do you pronounce "armature"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "armature" is /ˈɑː.mə.tjʊə/. 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 "armature"?
Borrowed from Middle French armature, from Latin armātūra (“armour”). Doublet of armor and armure. 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.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "armature", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

appraise#50,359antimony#50,357Anheuser#50,355ambushes#50,352

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list