compositor

/kəmˈpɒzɪtə(ɹ)/

//kəmˈpɒzɪtə(ɹ)// noun

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

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

The verdict

“compositor” is uncommon English (frequency #79,404 among 5,599 “C” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#79,404
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A person who sets type; a typesetter.

Corpus desk

Index EN-compositor · compositor · English

compositor · rank #79,404 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #79,404
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH compleat

Nearest frequency peer: compleat (-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 “compositor”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for compositor
PropertyValue
Headwordcompositor
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/kəmˈpɒzɪtə(ɹ)/
Letters10
Frequency rank#79,404
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “compositor” 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).compositorfalls in this rarity band:

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Rare peers in the same band: “compleat” (#79,403), “comedown” (#79,400), “copra” (#79,408). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “compositor” is #79,404. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

compositor is uncommon English at frequency #79,404 among 5,599 “C” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /kəmˈpɒzɪtə(ɹ)/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

No generated misspelling entries exist for compositor in our index, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.

Etymologically, the entry records: From French compositeur, from Latin compositor. The correct English form is compositor, spelled C-O-M-P-O-S-I-T-O-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    A person who sets type; a typesetter.
  2. 2
    One who, or that which, composes or sets in order.
  3. 3
    A system that puts images together in a buffer (such as individual windows on a desktop) to generate a final display image.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Thus, when he drew up instructions in lawyer language […] his clerks […] understood him very well. If he had written a love letter, or a farce, or a ballade, or a story, no one, either clerks, or friends, or compositors, would have understood anything but a word here and a word there.
  2. All Spaniards, we discovered, knew two English expressions. One was 'O.K., baby', the other was a word used by the Barcelona whores in their dealings with English sailors, and I am afraid the compositors would not print it.

Etymology

From French compositeur, from Latin compositor.

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 "compositor"?
"compositor" is spelled C-O-M-P-O-S-I-T-O-R. The IPA pronunciation is /kəmˈpɒzɪtə(ɹ)/.
What does "compositor" mean?
As a noun, "compositor" means: A person who sets type; a typesetter.
How do you pronounce "compositor"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "compositor" is /kəmˈpɒzɪtə(ɹ)/. 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 "compositor"?
From French compositeur, from Latin compositor. 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 "compositor", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 10 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

cornflower#79,411cottontail#79,416crewmember#79,422dehumanize#79,440

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list