colonist

/ˈkɒlənɪst/

//ˈkɒlənɪst// noun

"colonist" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“colonist” is uncommon English (frequency #51,028 among 5,599 “C” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#51,028
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A founder of a colony.

Corpus desk

Index EN-colonist · colonist · English

colonist · rank #51,028 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #51,028
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH Colfax

Nearest frequency peer: Colfax (-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.

Long-tail ranks near “colonist”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “colonist” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for colonist
PropertyValue
Headwordcolonist
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈkɒlənɪst/
Letters8
Frequency rank#51,028
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “colonist” in English

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).colonistfalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Rare peers in the same band: “Colfax” (#51,027), “coincident” (#51,026), “coffeehouse” (#51,025). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “colonist” is #51,028. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

colonist is uncommon English at frequency #51,028 among 5,599 “C” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈkɒlənɪst/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for colonist, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

Etymologically, the entry records: From colon(y) + -ist. The correct English form is colonist, spelled C-O-L-O-N-I-S-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    A founder of a colony.
  2. 2
    A member of a colony.

Etymology

From colon(y) + -ist.

This word in other languages

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 "colonist"?
"colonist" is spelled C-O-L-O-N-I-S-T. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈkɒlənɪst/.
What does "colonist" mean?
As a noun, "colonist" means: A founder of a colony.
How do you pronounce "colonist"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "colonist" is /ˈkɒlənɪst/. 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 "colonist"?
From colon(y) + -ist. 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 "colonist", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list