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camber

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

Letters

6 characters

Language

English

word origin

Source

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Detailed reference entry for the English word "camber", 6-letters, with pronunciation in International Phonetic Alphabet notation, etymology traced through Germanic and Romance roots where applicable, common misspelling variants catalogued from Hunspell error dictionaries, and usage frequency ranked against the top 100,000 English words in the Wordfreq corpus. PlainSpell covers English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German spelling with confusable-pair detection that highlights visually and phonetically similar words. This entry for "camber" 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 "camber" for academic writing, checking homophone confusion, or exploring etymological origins, this page provides a citation-backed, free reference that requires no sign-up.

camber is aEnglishnoun. It means: A slight convexity, arching or curvature of a surface of a road, beam, roof, ship's deck etc., so that liquids will flow off the sides. Pronounced /ˈkæm.bə/. Often confused with came and camel.

Key facts for camber
PropertyValue
Headwordcamber
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈkæm.bə/
Letters6
Frequency rank#43,071
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency rank visualization

Position of camber in English word frequency (lower rank = more common)

Source: Wordfreq corpus

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for camber is 6 letters long, classified as anoun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈkæm.bə/. Corpus data places it at rank #43,071 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it.Wiktionary records 6 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our Hunspell-derived misspelling index lists 9 documented wrong-spelling variants for camber, with forms such as "acmber", "cabmer", and "cambber". Each variant represents a distinct typo pattern that appears often enough in corpora to be worth flagging, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution.It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "came", "camel", "cater", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Old French cambre (“bent”), from Latin camurum, from camur (“arched”). 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 camber, spelled C-A-M-B-E-R, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

Definition

  1. 1
    A slight convexity, arching or curvature of a surface of a road, beam, roof, ship's deck etc., so that liquids will flow off the sides.
  2. 2
    The slope of a curved road created to minimize the effect of centrifugal force.
  3. 3
    An upward concavity in the underside of a beam, girder, or lintel; also, a slight upward concavity in a straight arch.
  4. 4
    The alignment on the roll axis of the wheels of a road vehicle, where positive camber signifies that the wheels are closer together at the bottom than the top.
  5. 5
    The curvature of an airfoil.
  6. 6
    A small enclosed dock in which timber for masts (etc.) is kept to weather.

Etymology

From Old French cambre (“bent”), from Latin camurum, from camur (“arched”).

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: acmber,cabmer,cambber,camberr,cambre,camebr,cammber,ccamber,cmaber

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

Relative frequency of common misspelling types for camber

Misspelling Variants of "camber"

acmber6cabmer6cambber7camberr7cambre6camebr6cammber7ccamber7
Misspelling Variants of "camber"

Frequency rank: #43,071 in English

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "camber"?
"camber" is spelled C-A-M-B-E-R. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈkæm.bə/.
What does "camber" mean?
As a noun, "camber" means: A slight convexity, arching or curvature of a surface of a road, beam, roof, ship's deck etc., so that liquids will flow off the sides.
What words are commonly confused with "camber"?
"camber" is commonly confused with "came", "camel", "cater". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "camber"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "camber" is /ˈkæm.bə/. 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 "camber"?
From Old French cambre (“bent”), from Latin camurum, from camur (“arched”). 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.

Nearby English words

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

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Data Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Frequency data from Wordfreq. Misspellings derived from Hunspell dictionaries.