comptroller

/kəmpˈtɹoʊləɹ/

//kəmpˈtɹoʊləɹ// noun

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

"comptroller" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“comptroller” has 16 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #26,378. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#26,378
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords
16
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The chief accountant of a company or government.

Corpus desk

Index EN-comptroller · comptroller · English

comptroller · rank #26,378 · 16 variants · 1 confusable

  • FREQ-MID #26,378
  • LEN-MEGA 11 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 16 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH compress

Nearest frequency peer: compress (-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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “comptroller”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “comptroller” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

comptroller vs controller
82% similar

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

Key facts for comptroller
PropertyValue
Headwordcomptroller
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/kəmpˈtɹoʊləɹ/
Letters11
Frequency rank#26,378
Misspellings tracked16
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “comptroller”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).comptrollerlands here:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “compress” (#26,377), “conventionally” (#26,379), “competitively” (#26,376). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “comptroller” is #26,378. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 16 spelling variants around comptroller (IPA /kəmpˈtɹoʊləɹ/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #26,378 among 5,599 “C” headwords. Dominant gloss: "The chief accountant of a company or government.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 16 likely wrong-spelling variants for comptroller, with forms such as "ccomptroller", "cmoptroller", and "commptroller". 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. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "controller", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From late Middle English compteroller, a spelling variant of countreroller (from which controller) due to folk etymology: the word was thought to have an etymological connection with Middle French compte (“account”) (Middle French compteroleur is attested c… The correct English form is comptroller, spelled C-O-M-P-T-R-O-L-L-E-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    The chief accountant of a company or government.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. So the Comptroller and I thence to a tavern hard by, and there did agree upon drawing up some letters to be sent to all the pursers and Clerks of the Cheques to make up their accounts.
  2. The terms of the licence shall, in default of agreement, be settled by the comptroller.

Etymology

From late Middle English compteroller, a spelling variant of countreroller (from which controller) due to folk etymology: the word was thought to have an etymological connection with Middle French compte (“account”) (Middle French compteroleur is attested circa 1375). Originally the two spellings were equivalent and pronounced identically; the modern pronunciation with [mp] is based on the spelling.

Synonyms

administratorchiefcontrollerforemanheadhead manorganiserorganizeroverseersuperintendentsupervisor

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ccomptroller
  • cmoptroller
  • commptroller
  • compptroller
  • comprtoller
  • comptorller
  • comptrloler
  • comptrolelr
  • comptroler
  • comptrollerr
  • comptrollre
  • comptrroller
  • compttroller
  • comtproller
  • copmtroller
  • ocmptroller

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

ccomptroller1cmoptroller2commptroller1compptroller1comprtoller2comptorller2comptrloler2comptrolelr2
Edit distance from "comptroller"

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 "comptroller"?
"comptroller" is spelled C-O-M-P-T-R-O-L-L-E-R. The IPA pronunciation is /kəmpˈtɹoʊləɹ/.
What does "comptroller" mean?
As a noun, "comptroller" means: The chief accountant of a company or government.
What words are commonly confused with "comptroller"?
"comptroller" is commonly confused with "controller". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "comptroller"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "comptroller" is /kəmpˈtɹoʊləɹ/. 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 "comptroller"?
From late Middle English compteroller, a spelling variant of countreroller (from which controller) due to folk etymology: the word was thought to have an etymological connection with Middle French compte (“account”) (Middle French compteroleur is ... 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 "comptroller", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 11 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

commendable#26,375deliverance#26,395electrolyte#26,407exclusivity#26,414

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (16 here; floor ≥5).

Darlington16 variantsgratifying16 variantsHerzegovina16 variantsinfringing16 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list