commerce

/ˈkɒm.əs/

//ˈkɒm.əs// noun

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

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

The verdict

“commerce” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #3,803 in English word frequency and used as a noun.

#3,803
frequency rank, English
8
letters
10
tracked misspellings
3
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The exchange or buying and selling of commodities; especially the exchange of merchandise, on a large scale, between different places or communities; extended trade or traffic.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

commerce vs coerce
75% similar
commerce vs commence
88% similar
commerce vs commenced
78% similar

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

Key facts for commerce
PropertyValue
Headwordcommerce
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈkɒm.əs/
Letters8
Frequency rank#3,803
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs3
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “commerce” sits in English frequency

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

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for commerce is 8 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈkɒm.əs/. Corpus data places it at rank #3,803 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. 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 commerce, with forms such as "ccommerce", "cmomerce", and "comemrce". 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 3 confusable-pair relationships, "coerce", "commence", "commenced", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Middle French commerce, from Latin commercium. Doublet of comess. The correct English form is commerce, spelled C-O-M-M-E-R-C-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    The exchange or buying and selling of commodities; especially the exchange of merchandise, on a large scale, between different places or communities; extended trade or traffic.
  2. 2
    Social intercourse; the dealings of one person or class in society with another; familiarity.
  3. 3
    Sexual intercourse.
  4. 4
    An 18th-century French card game in which the cards are subject to exchange, barter, or trade.

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle French commerce, from Latin commercium. Doublet of comess.

Synonyms

tradetrafficdealingsintercourseinterchangecommunioncommunication

This word in other languages

comercio(Español)commerce(Français)Handel(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: ccommerce,cmomerce,comemrce,comerce,commecre,commercce,commerec,commerrce,commrece,ocmmerce

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

ccommerce1cmomerce2comemrce2comerce1commecre2commercce1commerec2commerrce1
Edit distance from "commerce"

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 "commerce"?
"commerce" is spelled C-O-M-M-E-R-C-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈkɒm.əs/.
What does "commerce" mean?
As a noun, "commerce" means: The exchange or buying and selling of commodities; especially the exchange of merchandise, on a large scale, between different places or communities; extended trade or traffic.
What words are commonly confused with "commerce"?
"commerce" is commonly confused with "coerce", "commence", "commenced". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "commerce"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "commerce" is /ˈkɒm.əs/. 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 "commerce"?
Borrowed from Middle French commerce, from Latin commercium. Doublet of comess. 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.

Using “commerce”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is C-O-M-M-E-R-C-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /ˈkɒm.əs/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “coerce” - see the side-by-side comparison. commerce vs coerce
  • 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list