defector
/dɪˈfɛktə(ɹ)/noun
defector is spelled D-E-F-E-C-T-O-R: 8 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 45,947th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, defector means “One who defects” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of defector is defectors.
How many letters and syllables are in defector?
| Letters | 8: D-E-F-E-C-T-O-R |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 45,947th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is defector?
Defector appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 45,947th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce defector?
- UK /dɪˈfɛktə(ɹ)/
Defector has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Wodencafe-defector.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with defector?
4 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as defector from its last stressed vowel (/ɛktə/, British pronunciation):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of defector
- defectors plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does defector mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
One who defects.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Defector in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense one who defects:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | transfuge |
| German | Überläufer, Überläuferin |
| Portuguese | desertor, trânsfuga |
| Spanish | tránsfuga, desertor |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does defector come from?
Borrowed from Latin dēfector.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).