automobile

/ˈɔː.tə.məˌbiːl/

//ˈɔː.tə.məˌbiːl// noun

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

"automobile" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“automobile” has 13 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #7,772. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#7,772
frequency rank, English
3,931
“A” headwords
13
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A type of motor vehicle designed to move on the ground under its own stored power and intended to carry a driver, a small number of additional passengers, and a very limited amount of other load.

Corpus desk

Index EN-automobile · automobile · English

automobile · rank #7,772 · 13 variants · 1 confusable

  • FREQ-COMMON #7,772
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-6 6 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 13 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,931
  • PHOTO-FINISH Barnes

Nearest frequency peer: Barnes (+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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “automobile”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “automobile” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

automobile vs automotive
80% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for automobile
PropertyValue
Headwordautomobile
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈɔː.tə.məˌbiːl/
Letters10
Frequency rank#7,772
Misspellings tracked13
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “automobile”

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

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “Barnes” (#7,773), “breasts” (#7,774), “Annie” (#7,769). Among 3,931 “A” headwords, “automobile” is #7,772. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 13 spelling variants around automobile (IPA /ˈɔː.tə.məˌbiːl/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #7,772 among 3,931 “A” headwords. Dominant gloss: "A type of motor vehicle designed to move on the ground under its own stored power and intended to carry a driver, a small number of additional passengers, and a very limited amount of other load.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 13 likely wrong-spelling variants for automobile, with forms such as "atuomobile", "auotmobile", and "autmoobile". 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 1 confusable-pair relationship, "automotive", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂ewder.? Proto-Indo-European *sóder.? Proto-Indo-European *h₂ewder. Ancient Greek αὖ (aû) Ancient Greek τόν (tón)? Ancient Greek αὐτός (autós) Ancient Greek αὐτο- (auto-)lbor. French auto- Proto-Indo-European *m(y)ewh₁-d… The correct English form is automobile, spelled A-U-T-O-M-O-B-I-L-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A type of motor vehicle designed to move on the ground under its own stored power and intended to carry a driver, a small number of additional passengers, and a very limited amount of other load.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Meronym: see list of auto parts
  2. Surprisingly, this analysis revealed that acute exposure to solvent vapors at concentrations below those associated with long-term effects appears to increase the risk of a fatal automobile accident.

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂ewder.? Proto-Indo-European *sóder.? Proto-Indo-European *h₂ewder. Ancient Greek αὖ (aû) Ancient Greek τόν (tón)? Ancient Greek αὐτός (autós) Ancient Greek αὐτο- (auto-)lbor. French auto- Proto-Indo-European *m(y)ewh₁-der. Proto-Italic *moweō Latin moveō Proto-Indo-European *-dʰlis Proto-Italic *-ðlis Latin -bilis Latin mōbilislbor. French mobile French automobilebor. English automobile From French automobile, from Ancient Greek αὐτός (autós, “self”) + French mobile (“moving”), from Latin mōbilis (“movable”), equivalent to auto- (“self”) + mobile.

Synonyms

automobilecarcahdevil wagonhorseless carriagemotor carautoridewheelswhip

This word in other languages

automóvil(Español)voiture(Français)Automobil(Deutsch)carro(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • atuomobile
  • auotmobile
  • autmoobile
  • automboile
  • autommobile
  • automobbile
  • automobiel
  • automobille
  • automoblie
  • automoible
  • autoombile
  • auttomobile
  • uatomobile

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of automobile - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

atuomobile2auotmobile2autmoobile2automboile2autommobile1automobbile1automobiel2automobille1
Edit distance from "automobile"

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 "automobile"?
"automobile" is spelled A-U-T-O-M-O-B-I-L-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈɔː.tə.məˌbiːl/.
What does "automobile" mean?
As a noun, "automobile" means: A type of motor vehicle designed to move on the ground under its own stored power and intended to carry a driver, a small number of additional passengers, and a very limited amount of other load.
What words are commonly confused with "automobile"?
"automobile" is commonly confused with "automotive". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "automobile"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "automobile" is /ˈɔː.tə.məˌbiːl/. 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 "automobile"?
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂ewder.? Proto-Indo-European *sóder.? Proto-Indo-European *h₂ewder. Ancient Greek αὖ (aû) Ancient Greek τόν (tón)? Ancient Greek αὐτός (autós) Ancient Greek αὐτο- (auto-)lbor. French auto- Proto-Indo-European *... 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 "automobile", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 10 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

wilderness#7,763terrifying#7,753supervisor#7,749networking#7,820

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (13 here; floor ≥5).

composite13 variantsdecorated13 variantsvarieties13 variantsfashioned13 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list