# complaint

> English word · Noun · IPA /kəmˈpleɪnt/ · frequency rank #4,145

## Definitions
1. The act of complaining.
2. A grievance, problem, difficulty, or concern.
3. In a civil action, the first pleading of the plaintiff setting out the facts on which the claim is based.
4. In criminal law, the preliminary charge or accusation made by one person against another to the appropriate court or officer, usually a magistrate.
5. A bodily disorder or disease; the symptom of such a disorder.

## Etymology
From Middle English compleynte, from Anglo-Norman compleint, from Old French compleindre, eventually from Latin planctus (whence plaint).

## Easily confused with
- **compliant** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/complaint-vs-compliant)
- **complying** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/complaint-vs-complying)
- **complaints** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/complaint-vs-complaints)
- **complain** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/complain-vs-complaint)
- **complains** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/complains-vs-complaint)
- **complained** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/complained-vs-complaint)
- **complacent** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/complacent-vs-complaint)
- **complainant** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/complainant-vs-complaint)

## Common misspellings (13)
`ccomplaint`, `cmoplaint`, `comlpaint`, `commplaint`, `compalint`, `complainnt`, `complaintt`, `complaitn`, `complanit`, `compllaint`, `compplaint`, `copmlaint`, `ocmplaint`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/complaint