constable

/ˈkʌnstəbəl/

//ˈkʌnstəbəl// noun

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

"constable" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“constable” has 15 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #9,722. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#9,722
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords
15
tracked misspellings
2
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - One holding the lowest rank in most Commonwealth police forces. (See also chief constable.)

Corpus desk

Index EN-constable · constable · English

constable · rank #9,722 · 15 variants · 2 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #9,722
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 2 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 15 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH cooperate

Nearest frequency peer: cooperate (+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 “constable”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “constable” 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).

constable vs Constance
67% similar
constable vs consumable
80% similar

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

Key facts for constable
PropertyValue
Headwordconstable
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈkʌnstəbəl/
Letters9
Frequency rank#9,722
Misspellings tracked15
Confusable pairs2
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “constable”

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).constablelands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “cooperate” (#9,723), “companions” (#9,720), “commitments” (#9,719). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “constable” is #9,722. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 15 spelling variants around constable (IPA /ˈkʌnstəbəl/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #9,722 among 5,599 “C” headwords. Wiktionary lists 7 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 15 likely wrong-spelling variants for constable, with forms such as "cconstable", "cnostable", and "connstable". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 2 confusable-pair relationships, "Constance", "consumable", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English constable, cunstable, constabil, connestable, cunestable, from Old French conestable, from Latin comes stabulī (“officer of the stables”). For the sense-development; compare marshal. Doublet of connétable. The correct English form is constable, spelled C-O-N-S-T-A-B-L-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    One holding the lowest rank in most Commonwealth police forces. (See also chief constable.)
  2. 2
    A police officer or an officer with equivalent powers.
  3. 3
    An officer of a noble court in the Middle Ages, usually a senior army commander. (See also marshal).
  4. 4
    The warden of a castle.
  5. 5
    An elected or appointed public officer, usually at municipal level, responsible for maintaining order or serving writs and court orders.
  6. 6
    An elected head of a parish (also known as a connétable)
  7. 7
    A large butterfly, Dichorragia nesimachus, family Nymphalidae, of Asia.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. As soon as Julia returned with a constable, Timothy, who was on the point of exhaustion, prepared to give over to him gratefully. The newcomer turned out to be a powerful youngster, fully trained and eager to help, and he stripped off his tunic at once.

Etymology

From Middle English constable, cunstable, constabil, connestable, cunestable, from Old French conestable, from Latin comes stabulī (“officer of the stables”). For the sense-development; compare marshal. Doublet of connétable.

Synonyms

police officer

This word in other languages

constable(Français)agente(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • cconstable
  • cnostable
  • connstable
  • consatble
  • consstable
  • constabble
  • constabel
  • constablle
  • constalbe
  • constbale
  • constible
  • consttable
  • contsable
  • cosntable
  • ocnstable

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of constable - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

cconstable1cnostable2connstable1consatble2consstable1constabble1constabel2constablle1
Edit distance from "constable"

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 "constable"?
"constable" is spelled C-O-N-S-T-A-B-L-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈkʌnstəbəl/.
What does "constable" mean?
As a noun, "constable" means: One holding the lowest rank in most Commonwealth police forces. (See also chief constable.)
What words are commonly confused with "constable"?
"constable" is commonly confused with "Constance", "consumable". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "constable"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "constable" is /ˈkʌnstəbəl/. 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 "constable"?
From Middle English constable, cunstable, constabil, connestable, cunestable, from Old French conestable, from Latin comes stabulī (“officer of the stables”). For the sense-development; compare marshal. Doublet of connétable. 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 "constable", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

cooperate#9,723counselor#9,726assisting#9,701wandering#9,691

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (15 here; floor ≥5).

companions15 variantscapitalist15 variantsdistribute15 variantsefficiently15 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list