controller

/kənˈtɹəʊlə/

//kənˈtɹəʊlə// noun

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

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

The verdict

“controller” has 14 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #5,776. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#5,776
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords
14
tracked misspellings
3
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - One who controls something.

Corpus desk

Index EN-controller · controller · English

controller · rank #5,776 · 14 variants · 3 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #5,776
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 3 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 14 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH consultant

Nearest frequency peer: consultant (-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 “controller”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “controller” 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).

controller vs controllers
91% similar
controller vs controlled
90% similar
controller vs comptroller
82% similar

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

Key facts for controller
PropertyValue
Headwordcontroller
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/kənˈtɹəʊlə/
Letters10
Frequency rank#5,776
Misspellings tracked14
Confusable pairs3
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “controller”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).controllerlands here:

#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. Same rarity band neighbours include “consultant” (#5,775), “corresponding” (#5,777), “consciousness” (#5,774). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “controller” is #5,776. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 14 spelling variants around controller (IPA /kənˈtɹəʊlə/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #5,776 among 5,599 “C” headwords. Wiktionary lists 9 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 14 likely wrong-spelling variants for controller, with forms such as "ccontroller", "cnotroller", and "conntroller". 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 3 confusable-pair relationships, "controllers", "controlled", "comptroller", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English countreroller, from Anglo-Norman contreroulour and Middle French contreroleur (French contrôleur), from Medieval Latin contrārotulātor, from *contrārotulāre (from which control). Doublet of comptroller. By surface analysis, control + -er. The correct English form is controller, spelled C-O-N-T-R-O-L-L-E-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    One who controls something.
  2. 2
    Any electric or mechanical device for controlling a circuit or system.
  3. 3
    The chief accounting officer which audits, and manages the financial affairs of a company or government; a comptroller.
  4. 4
    A mechanism that controls or regulates the operation of a machine, especially a peripheral device in a computer.
  5. 5
    A hardware device designed to allow the user to play video games.
  6. 6
    An iron block, usually bolted to a ship's deck, for controlling the running out of a chain cable. The links of the cable tend to drop into hollows in the block, and thus hold fast until disengaged.
  7. 7
    The person who supervises and handles communication with an agent in the field.
  8. 8
    The subject of a control verb. See Control (linguistics)
  9. 9
    In software applications using the model-view-controller design pattern, the part or parts of the application that treat input and output, forming an interface between models and views.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. The great controller of our fate / Deigned to be man, and lived in low estate.
  2. Nothing more can be squeezed out of the motive power unit once the master controller has been moved to full on.

Etymology

From Middle English countreroller, from Anglo-Norman contreroulour and Middle French contreroleur (French contrôleur), from Medieval Latin contrārotulātor, from *contrārotulāre (from which control). Doublet of comptroller. By surface analysis, control + -er.

Synonyms

administratorchiefforemanheadhead manorganizeroverseersuperintendentsupervisorcomptrollerdriver

This word in other languages

controlador(Español)contrôleur(Français)Kontrolleur(Deutsch)controle(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ccontroller
  • cnotroller
  • conntroller
  • conrtoller
  • contorller
  • contrloler
  • controlelr
  • controler
  • controllerr
  • controllre
  • contrroller
  • conttroller
  • cotnroller
  • ocntroller

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

ccontroller1cnotroller2conntroller1conrtoller2contorller2contrloler2controlelr2controler1
Edit distance from "controller"

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 "controller"?
"controller" is spelled C-O-N-T-R-O-L-L-E-R. The IPA pronunciation is /kənˈtɹəʊlə/.
What does "controller" mean?
As a noun, "controller" means: One who controls something.
What words are commonly confused with "controller"?
"controller" is commonly confused with "controllers", "controlled", "comptroller". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "controller"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "controller" is /kənˈtɹəʊlə/. 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 "controller"?
From Middle English countreroller, from Anglo-Norman contreroulour and Middle French contreroleur (French contrôleur), from Medieval Latin contrārotulātor, from *contrārotulāre (from which control). Doublet of comptroller. By surface analysis, con... 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 "controller", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

consultant#5,775chancellor#5,767applicable#5,757helicopter#5,798

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (14 here; floor ≥5).

comparing14 variantsdemanding14 variantsfinancing14 variantsgentlemen14 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list