commutator

noun

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

"commutator" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“commutator” is uncommon English (frequency #80,335 among 43,570 “C” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#80,335
frequency rank, English
43,570
“C” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - An electrical switch, in a generator or motor, that periodically reverses the direction of an electric current.

Key facts for commutator
PropertyValue
Headwordcommutator
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters10
Frequency rank#80,335
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “commutator” 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). commutator lands here:

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

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

Rare enough to double-check

commutator is uncommon English at frequency #80,335 among 43,570 “C” headwords, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for commutator, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: Back-formation from commutation (in the late 19th century), as is commutate (verb) too. The correct English form is commutator, spelled C-O-M-M-U-T-A-T-O-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    An electrical switch, in a generator or motor, that periodically reverses the direction of an electric current.
  2. 2
    A binary map in a given group G, given by [g, h] = ghg⁻¹h⁻¹, where g and h are elements of G, which yields the group's identity if and only if the group operation commutes for g and h.
  3. 3
    A binary map in a given ring R, given by [a, b] = ab − ba, where a and b are elements of R, which yields the ring's zero element if and only if the multiplication operation commutes for a and b.

Etymology

Back-formation from commutation (in the late 19th century), as is commutate (verb) too.

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 "commutator"?
"commutator" is spelled C-O-M-M-U-T-A-T-O-R.
What does "commutator" mean?
As a noun, "commutator" means: An electrical switch, in a generator or motor, that periodically reverses the direction of an electric current.
What is the origin of the word "commutator"?
Back-formation from commutation (in the late 19th century), as is commutate (verb) too. 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 “commutator”

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

  • The one correct English spelling is C-O-M-M-U-T-A-T-O-R - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words

Other uncommon English words near this rank

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