camouflage
/ˈkæ.məˌflɑːʒ/
"camouflage" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“camouflage” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #16,660 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #16,660
- frequency rank, English
- 10
- letters
- 14
- tracked misspellings
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A disguise or covering up.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | camouflage |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈkæ.məˌflɑːʒ/ |
| Letters | 10 |
| Frequency rank | #16,660 |
| Misspellings tracked | 14 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “camouflage” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for camouflage is 10 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈkæ.məˌflɑːʒ/. Corpus data places it at rank #16,660 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 generated misspelling index lists 14 likely wrong-spelling variants for camouflage, with forms such as "acmouflage", "cammouflage", and "camofulage". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.
Etymologically, the entry records: Unadapted borrowing from French camouflage, from camoufler (“to veil, disguise”), alteration (due to camouflet (“smoke blown in one's face”)) of Italian camuffare (“to muffle the head”), from ca- (from Italian capo (“head”)) + muffare (“to muffle”), from Me… The correct English form is camouflage, spelled C-A-M-O-U-F-L-A-G-E.
Definition
- 1A disguise or covering up.
- 2The act of disguising.
- 3The use of natural or artificial material on personnel, objects, or tactical positions with the aim of confusing, misleading, or evading the enemy.
- 4A pattern on clothing consisting of irregularly shaped patches that are either greenish/brownish, brownish/whitish, or bluish/whitish, as used by ground combat forces.
- 5The resemblance of an organism to its surroundings for avoiding detection.
- 6Clothes made from camouflage fabric, for concealment in combat or hunting.
Etymology
Unadapted borrowing from French camouflage, from camoufler (“to veil, disguise”), alteration (due to camouflet (“smoke blown in one's face”)) of Italian camuffare (“to muffle the head”), from ca- (from Italian capo (“head”)) + muffare (“to muffle”), from Medieval Latin muffula, muffla (“muff”). This Medieval Latin, from which there is also English muffle, is either derived from a Frankish *molfell (“soft garment made of hide”) from *mol (“softened, forworn”) (akin to Old High German molawēn (“to soften”), Middle High German molwic (“soft”)) + *fell (“hide, skin”), from Proto-Germanic *fellą (“skin, film, fleece”), or, an alternate etymology traces it to a Frankish *muffël (“a muff, wrap, envelope”) composed of *mauwa (“sleeve, wrap”) from Proto-Germanic *mawwō (“sleeve”) + *fell (“skin, hide”) from Proto-Germanic *fellą (“skin, film, fleece”).
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: acmouflage,cammouflage,camofulage,camoufalge,camoufflage,camouflaeg,camouflagge,camouflgae,camoufllage,camoulfage,camuoflage,caomuflage,ccamouflage,cmaouflage
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of camouflage - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
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 "camouflage"?
What does "camouflage" mean?
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Using “camouflage”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is C-A-M-O-U-F-L-A-G-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈkæ.məˌflɑːʒ/ (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
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.