asylum seeker

/əˈsaɪːləm siːkɚ/

//əˈsaɪːləm siːkɚ// noun

"asylum-seeker" is a 12-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“asylum seeker” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
13
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A person who has applied for asylum in a foreign country but has not yet been granted refugee status by that country.

Corpus desk

Index EN-asylum-seeker · asylum seeker · English

asylum seeker · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 13 letters
  • VOW-6 6 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "A" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

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.

Key facts for asylum seeker
PropertyValue
Headwordasylum seeker
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/əˈsaɪːləm siːkɚ/
Letters13
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “asylum seeker” in English

asylum seekersits beyond the 100,000 most-frequent English words, in the long tail of technical, archaic, or otherwise rare vocabulary where spelling doubt tends to strike hardest.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

asylum seeker is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /əˈsaɪːləm siːkɚ/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A person who has applied for asylum in a foreign country but has not yet been granted refugee status by that country.".

No generated misspelling entries exist for asylum seeker in our index, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

Our source data has no etymology on file for this entry, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct English form is asylum seeker, spelled A-S-Y-L-U-M- -S-E-E-K-E-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    A person who has applied for asylum in a foreign country but has not yet been granted refugee status by that country.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. He stayed with friends and even spent a few nights in a hotel when had nowhere else to go. In September 2019, he moved into a flat with three other gay asylum seekers through Le Refuge, an organisation supporting isolated LGBTQI+ youth.
  2. In Manchester and in Aldershot in Hampshire, asylum seeker accommodation was targeted by demonstrators carrying placards that read “deport them, don’t support them” and “no apartments for illegals”.

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). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "asylum seeker"?
"asylum seeker" is spelled A-S-Y-L-U-M- -S-E-E-K-E-R. The IPA pronunciation is /əˈsaɪːləm siːkɚ/.
What does "asylum seeker" mean?
As a noun, "asylum seeker" means: A person who has applied for asylum in a foreign country but has not yet been granted refugee status by that country.
How do you pronounce "asylum seeker"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "asylum seeker" is /əˈsaɪːləm siːkɚ/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "asylum seeker" come from?
"asylum seeker" is a English word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list