co-operate

verb

"co-operate" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“co-operate” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
10
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Alternative spelling of cooperate.

Corpus desk

Index EN-co-operate · co-operate · English

co-operate · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "C" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

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.

Key facts for co-operate
PropertyValue
Headwordco-operate
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
Letters10
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “co-operate” in English

co-operatesits beyond the 100,000 most-frequent English words, in the long tail of technical, archaic, or otherwise rare vocabulary where spelling doubt tends to strike hardest.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

co-operate is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as averb. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Alternative spelling of cooperate.".

co-operate has no tracked misspelling variants, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.

This headword's origin isn't recorded in our source data, so its spelling is best read as a straightforward mapping from sound to letter. The correct English form is co-operate, spelled C-O---O-P-E-R-A-T-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Alternative spelling of cooperate.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. On Friday, 14 September–the same day on which the Chinese convoy with the reinforcements for Manchuria left Taku–Ito had completed his work in connection with the transport of Japanese troops, having landed the last detachments at Chinampo in the estuary of the Ta-tung River. Higher up the river General Nodzu's army was attaching the Chinese walled town o…
  2. I am personally willing to assist in any international group to visit various localities in Hopei to verify the burial alive of hundreds of people who refused to co-operate with the "anti-Japanese" Red regime and were therefore "traitors". Such things do not make Edgar Snow angry.

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "co-operate"?
"co-operate" is spelled C-O---O-P-E-R-A-T-E.
What does "co-operate" mean?
As a verb, "co-operate" means: Alternative spelling of cooperate.
What language does "co-operate" come from?
"co-operate" is a English word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list