comprehend
/kɒmpɹɪˈhɛnd/
"comprehend" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“comprehend” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #11,183 in English word frequency and used as a verb.
- #11,183
- frequency rank, English
- 10
- letters
- 16
- tracked misspellings
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - To understand or grasp fully and thoroughly; to plumb.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | comprehend |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /kɒmpɹɪˈhɛnd/ |
| Letters | 10 |
| Frequency rank | #11,183 |
| Misspellings tracked | 16 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “comprehend” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for comprehend is 10 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /kɒmpɹɪˈhɛnd/. Corpus data places it at rank #11,183 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 16 likely wrong-spelling variants for comprehend, with forms such as "ccomprehend", "cmoprehend", and "commprehend". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English comprehenden, from Latin comprehendere (“to grasp”), from the prefix com- + prehendere (“to seize”). Doublet of comprend. The correct English form is comprehend, spelled C-O-M-P-R-E-H-E-N-D.
Definition
- 1To understand or grasp fully and thoroughly; to plumb.
- 2To include, comprise; to contain.
Etymology
From Middle English comprehenden, from Latin comprehendere (“to grasp”), from the prefix com- + prehendere (“to seize”). Doublet of comprend.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: ccomprehend,cmoprehend,commprehend,comperhend,compprehend,compreehnd,comprehedn,comprehendd,comprehennd,comprehhend,comprehned,comprheend,comprrehend,comrpehend,copmrehend,ocmprehend
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of comprehend - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
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
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Using “comprehend”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is C-O-M-P-R-E-H-E-N-D - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /kɒmpɹɪˈhɛnd/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- 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.