captor

/ˈkæptɚ/

//ˈkæptɚ// noun

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

"captor" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“captor” has 9 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #48,648. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#48,648
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords
9
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - One who is holding a captive or captives.

Corpus desk

Index EN-captor · captor · English

captor · rank #48,648 · 9 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #48,648
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 9 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH cami

Nearest frequency peer: cami (-2 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 “captor”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “captor” 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).

captor vs Cato
50% similar
captor vs cater
67% similar
captor vs Carter
50% similar

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

Key facts for captor
PropertyValue
Headwordcaptor
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈkæptɚ/
Letters6
Frequency rank#48,648
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “captor”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).captorlands 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 “cami” (#48,646), “calamari” (#48,645), “byline” (#48,644). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “captor” is #48,648. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 9 spelling variants around captor (IPA /ˈkæptɚ/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #48,648 among 5,599 “C” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for captor, with forms such as "acptor", "capotr", and "capptor". 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 20 confusable-pair relationships, "Cato", "cater", "Carter", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Late Latin captor, from Latin capiō. English usage began around 1688. The correct English form is captor, spelled C-A-P-T-O-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    One who is holding a captive or captives.
  2. 2
    One who catches or has caught or captured something or someone.

Etymology

Borrowed from Late Latin captor, from Latin capiō. English usage began around 1688.

Synonyms

guardjailerkidnapperarresternabber

This word in other languages

secuestrador(Español)Entführer(Deutsch)captor(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • acptor
  • capotr
  • capptor
  • captorr
  • captro
  • capttor
  • catpor
  • ccaptor
  • cpator

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of captor - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

acptor2capotr2capptor1captorr1captro2capttor1catpor2ccaptor1
Edit distance from "captor"

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 "captor"?
"captor" is spelled C-A-P-T-O-R. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈkæptɚ/.
What does "captor" mean?
As a noun, "captor" means: One who is holding a captive or captives.
What words are commonly confused with "captor"?
"captor" is commonly confused with "Cato", "cater", "Carter". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "captor"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "captor" is /ˈkæptɚ/. 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 "captor"?
Borrowed from Late Latin captor, from Latin capiō. English usage began around 1688. 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 "captor", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

byline#48,644busily#48,642buller#48,640Charli#48,658

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (9 here; floor ≥5).

Cobham9 variantsblimey9 variantsBeaulieu9 variantsbanyan9 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list