commando

/kəˈmɑːn.dəʊ/

//kəˈmɑːn.dəʊ// noun

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

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

The verdict

“commando” has 10 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #19,293. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#19,293
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords
10
tracked misspellings
5
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A small fighting force specially trained for making quick destructive raids against enemy-held areas.

Corpus desk

Index EN-commando · commando · English

commando · rank #19,293 · 10 variants · 5 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #19,293
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 5 pairs
  • VAR-MID 10 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH Comey

Nearest frequency peer: Comey (-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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “commando”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “commando” 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).

commando vs commend
75% similar
commando vs commands
88% similar
commando vs command
88% similar

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

Key facts for commando
PropertyValue
Headwordcommando
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/kəˈmɑːn.dəʊ/
Letters8
Frequency rank#19,293
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs5
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “commando”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).commandolands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “Comey” (#19,292), “complication” (#19,294), “cohesive” (#19,291). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “commando” is #19,293. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 10 spelling variants around commando (IPA /kəˈmɑːn.dəʊ/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #19,293 among 5,599 “C” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for commando, with forms such as "ccommando", "cmomando", and "comamndo". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 5 confusable-pair relationships, "commend", "commands", "command", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Afrikaans kommando, from Portuguese comando (“command”), from Late Latin *commandare, from Latin commendare. The correct English form is commando, spelled C-O-M-M-A-N-D-O.

Definition

  1. 1
    A small fighting force specially trained for making quick destructive raids against enemy-held areas.
  2. 2
    A commando trooper.
  3. 3
    An organized force of Boer troops in South Africa; a raid by such troops.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. The most important objective was at Batna itself, where a group of three commandos each comprising ten men was to attack Deleplanque's sub-prefecture […].
  2. Ben Grant, 30, who spent more than five years as a commando in the Royal Marines, is part of group of seven ex-servicemen who arrived in Ukraine over the weekend to fight invading Russian forces.

Etymology

From Afrikaans kommando, from Portuguese comando (“command”), from Late Latin *commandare, from Latin commendare.

This word in other languages

comando(Español)commando(Français)Kommando(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ccommando
  • cmomando
  • comamndo
  • comando
  • commadno
  • commanddo
  • commanndo
  • commanod
  • commnado
  • ocmmando

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of commando - 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.

ccommando1cmomando2comamndo2comando1commadno2commanddo1commanndo1commanod2
Edit distance from "commando"

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 "commando"?
"commando" is spelled C-O-M-M-A-N-D-O. The IPA pronunciation is /kəˈmɑːn.dəʊ/.
What does "commando" mean?
As a noun, "commando" means: A small fighting force specially trained for making quick destructive raids against enemy-held areas.
What words are commonly confused with "commando"?
"commando" is commonly confused with "commend", "commands", "command". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "commando"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "commando" is /kəˈmɑːn.dəʊ/. 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 "commando"?
From Afrikaans kommando, from Portuguese comando (“command”), from Late Latin *commandare, from Latin commendare. 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 "commando", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

cohesive#19,291computed#19,295degraded#19,306delights#19,308

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (10 here; floor ≥5).

clerks10 variantschunky10 variantsCorbyn10 variantsCaitlin10 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list