citadel
/ˈsɪtədəl/
"citadel" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“citadel” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #18,787 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #18,787
- frequency rank, English
- 7
- letters
- 10
- tracked misspellings
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A strong fortress that sits high above a city.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | citadel |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈsɪtədəl/ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Frequency rank | #18,787 |
| Misspellings tracked | 10 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “citadel” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for citadel is 7 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈsɪtədəl/. Corpus data places it at rank #18,787 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 4 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for citadel, with forms such as "ccitadel", "ciatdel", and "citaddel". 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. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.
Etymologically, the entry records: From French citadelle, from Italian cittadella, diminutive of città (“city”), from Latin cīvitās. The correct English form is citadel, spelled C-I-T-A-D-E-L.
Definition
- 1A strong fortress that sits high above a city.
- 2A stronghold or fortified place.
- 3An armoured portion of a warship, housing important equipment.
- 4A Salvation Army meeting place.
Etymology
From French citadelle, from Italian cittadella, diminutive of città (“city”), from Latin cīvitās.
Synonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: ccitadel,ciatdel,citaddel,citadell,citadle,citaedl,citdael,cittadel,ctiadel,ictadel
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of citadel - 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.
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 "citadel"?
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Using “citadel”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is C-I-T-A-D-E-L - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈsɪtədəl/ (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.