collector
/kəˈlɛktɚ/
"collector" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“collector” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #8,131 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #8,131
- frequency rank, English
- 9
- letters
- 12
- tracked misspellings
- 4
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A person who or thing that collects, or which creates or manages a collection.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | collector |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /kəˈlɛktɚ/ |
| Letters | 9 |
| Frequency rank | #8,131 |
| Misspellings tracked | 12 |
| Confusable pairs | 4 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “collector” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for collector is 9 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /kəˈlɛktɚ/. Corpus data places it at rank #8,131 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 7 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for collector, with forms such as "ccollector", "clolector", and "colector". 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 4 confusable-pair relationships, "connector", "collect", "collected", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English collectour, from Anglo-Norman collectour, from Late Latin collector, from Latin colligō (“to gather together”). The correct English form is collector, spelled C-O-L-L-E-C-T-O-R.
Definition
- 1A person who or thing that collects, or which creates or manages a collection.
- 2A person who is employed to collect payments.
- 3A person who is employed to collect payments.
- 4The amplified terminal on a bipolar junction transistor.
- 5A compiler of books; one who collects scattered passages and puts them together in one book.
- 6One holding a Bachelor of Arts in Oxford, formerly appointed to superintend some scholastic proceedings in Lent.
- 7A major sewer which collects sewerage from a number of smaller branch sewers
Etymology
From Middle English collectour, from Anglo-Norman collectour, from Late Latin collector, from Latin colligō (“to gather together”).
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: ccollector,clolector,colector,colelctor,collcetor,collecctor,collecotr,collectorr,collectro,collecttor,colletcor,ocllector
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of collector - 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 "collector"?
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Using “collector”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is C-O-L-L-E-C-T-O-R - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /kəˈlɛktɚ/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “connector” - see the side-by-side comparison. collector vs connector
- 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.