captain

/ˈkæp.tɪn/

//ˈkæp.tɪn// noun

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

"captain" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“captain” has 10 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #1,359. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#1,359
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords
10
tracked misspellings
11
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A chief or leader.

Corpus desk

Index EN-captain · captain · English

captain · rank #1,359 · 10 variants · 11 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #1,359
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 11 pairs
  • VAR-MID 10 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH basic

Nearest frequency peer: basic (-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 “captain”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “captain” 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).

captain vs certain
71% similar
captain vs contain
71% similar
captain vs curtain
71% similar

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

Key facts for captain
PropertyValue
Headwordcaptain
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈkæp.tɪn/
Letters7
Frequency rank#1,359
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs11
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “captain”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).captainlands 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 “basic” (#1,358), “carry” (#1,360), “associated” (#1,357). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “captain” is #1,359. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 10 spelling variants around captain (IPA /ˈkæp.tɪn/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #1,359 among 5,599 “C” headwords. Wiktionary lists 11 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for captain, with forms such as "acptain", "capatin", and "capptain". 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. It also participates in 11 confusable-pair relationships, "certain", "contain", "curtain", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English capitain, capteyn, from Old French capitaine, from Late Latin capitāneus, from Latin caput (“head”) (English cap). Ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kap-. Doublet of chieftain, also from Old French. The correct English form is captain, spelled C-A-P-T-A-I-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    A chief or leader.
  2. 2
    The person lawfully in command of a ship or other vessel.
  3. 3
    An army officer with a rank between the most senior grade of lieutenant and major.
  4. 4
    A naval officer with a rank between commander and commodore.
  5. 5
    A commissioned officer in the United States Navy, Coast Guard, NOAA Corps, or PHS Corps of a grade superior to a commander and junior to a rear admiral (lower half). A captain is equal in grade or rank to a United States Army, Marine Corps, or Air Force colonel.
  6. 6
    A rank qualifying an airline pilot to act as pilot in command of a two-pilot flight crew.
  7. 7
    One of the athletes on a sports team who is designated to make decisions, and is allowed to speak for his team with a referee or official.
  8. 8
    The leader of a group of workers.
  9. 9
    The head boy of a school.
  10. 10
    A maître d', a headwaiter.
  11. 11
    An honorific title given to a prominent person. See colonel.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. For out of the shal come a captaine, whych shall govern my people israhel.
  2. Stand up-stand up, Northumberland! / I bid you answer true, / If England's King has under his hand / A Captain as good as you?

Etymology

From Middle English capitain, capteyn, from Old French capitaine, from Late Latin capitāneus, from Latin caput (“head”) (English cap). Ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kap-. Doublet of chieftain, also from Old French.

Synonyms

supervisorstraw bossforemanskippermasterpilotpilot in commandCAPTCapt.CaptCPT

This word in other languages

capitán(Español)capitaine(Français)Stabshauptmann(Deutsch)capitão(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • acptain
  • capatin
  • capptain
  • captainn
  • captani
  • captian
  • capttain
  • catpain
  • ccaptain
  • cpatain

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of captain - 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.

acptain2capatin2capptain1captainn1captani2captian2capttain1catpain2
Edit distance from "captain"

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 "captain"?
"captain" is spelled C-A-P-T-A-I-N. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈkæp.tɪn/.
What does "captain" mean?
As a noun, "captain" means: A chief or leader.
What words are commonly confused with "captain"?
"captain" is commonly confused with "certain", "contain", "curtain". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "captain"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "captain" is /ˈkæp.tɪn/. 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 "captain"?
From Middle English capitain, capteyn, from Old French capitaine, from Late Latin capitāneus, from Latin caput (“head”) (English cap). Ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kap-. Doublet of chieftain, also from Old French. 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 "captain", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

effects#1,364explain#1,365reports#1,353records#1,352

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (10 here; floor ≥5).

highly10 variantsplanning10 variantsmachine10 variantsparties10 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list