controls

/kənˈtɹəʊlz/

//kənˈtɹəʊlz// noun

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

"controls" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“controls” has 13 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #3,549. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#3,549
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords
13
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - plural of control

Corpus desk

Index EN-controls · controls · English

controls · rank #3,549 · 13 variants · 1 confusable

  • FREQ-COMMON #3,549
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 13 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH comfort

Nearest frequency peer: comfort (-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 “controls”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “controls” 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).

controls vs control
88% similar

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

Key facts for controls
PropertyValue
Headwordcontrols
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/kənˈtɹəʊlz/
Letters8
Frequency rank#3,549
Misspellings tracked13
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “controls”

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).controlslands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “comfort” (#3,548), “cousin” (#3,550), “colonel” (#3,547). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “controls” is #3,549. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 13 spelling variants around controls (IPA /kənˈtɹəʊlz/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #3,549 among 5,599 “C” headwords. Dominant gloss: "plural of control".

Our generated misspelling index lists 13 likely wrong-spelling variants for controls, with forms such as "ccontrols", "cnotrols", and "conntrols". 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 1 confusable-pair relationship, "control", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

This headword's origin isn't recorded in our source data, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct English form is controls, spelled C-O-N-T-R-O-L-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    plural of control

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ccontrols
  • cnotrols
  • conntrols
  • conrtols
  • contorls
  • contrlos
  • controlls
  • controlss
  • controsl
  • contrrols
  • conttrols
  • cotnrols
  • ocntrols

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of controls - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

ccontrols1cnotrols2conntrols1conrtols2contorls2contrlos2controlls1controlss1
Edit distance from "controls"

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 "controls"?
"controls" is spelled C-O-N-T-R-O-L-S. The IPA pronunciation is /kənˈtɹəʊlz/.
What does "controls" mean?
As a noun, "controls" means: plural of control
What words are commonly confused with "controls"?
"controls" is commonly confused with "control". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "controls"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "controls" is /kənˈtɹəʊlz/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "controls" come from?
"controls" is a English word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
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 "controls", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

dramatic#3,556studying#3,531memorial#3,570minority#3,572

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (13 here; floor ≥5).

engineers13 variantsevolution13 variantspresents13 variantstelephone13 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list