department

/dɪˈpɑːtm(ə)nt/

//dɪˈpɑːtm(ə)nt// noun

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

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

The verdict

“department” has 16 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #583. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#583
frequency rank, English
3,470
“D” headwords
16
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A part, portion, or subdivision.

Corpus desk

Index EN-department · department · English

department · rank #583 · 16 variants · 1 confusable

  • FREQ-CORE #583
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 16 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,470
  • PHOTO-FINISH de

Nearest frequency peer: de (-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 “department”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “department” 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).

department vs departmental
83% similar

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

Key facts for department
PropertyValue
Headworddepartment
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/dɪˈpɑːtm(ə)nt/
Letters10
Frequency rank#583
Misspellings tracked16
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “department”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).departmentlands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “de” (#582), “energy” (#584), “wants” (#581). Among 3,470 “D” headwords, “department” is #583. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 16 spelling variants around department (IPA /dɪˈpɑːtm(ə)nt/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #583 among 3,470 “D” headwords. Wiktionary lists 8 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 16 likely wrong-spelling variants for department, with forms such as "ddepartment", "deaprtment", and "deparmtent". 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, "departmental", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English departement (“ceasing, end”), from Middle French département. Later senses borrowed from Modern French département. Doublet of département. The correct English form is department, spelled D-E-P-A-R-T-M-E-N-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    A part, portion, or subdivision.
  2. 2
    A distinct course of life, action, study, or the like.
  3. 3
    A specified aspect or quality.
  4. 4
    A subdivision of an organization.
  5. 5
    A subdivision of an organization.
  6. 6
    A territorial division; a district; especially, in France, one of the districts into which the country is divided for governmental purposes, similar to a county in the UK and in the USA. France is composed of 101 départements organized in 18 régions, each department is divided into arrondissements, in turn divided into cantons.
  7. 7
    A military subdivision of a country
  8. 8
    Act of departing; departure.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Technical things are not his department; he's a people person.
  2. Flair and invention were very much at a premium, suffocated by the relentless pace and often fractious nature of proceedings. The absence of James Morrison from the centre of Scotland’s midfield, the West Brom man ruled out on the morning of the game by illness, had already diminished the creative capacity of the home side in that department.

Etymology

From Middle English departement (“ceasing, end”), from Middle French département. Later senses borrowed from Modern French département. Doublet of département.

Synonyms

provincespecialtyministry

This word in other languages

sección(Español)ministère(Français)Abteilung(Deutsch)departamento(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ddepartment
  • deaprtment
  • deparmtent
  • deparrtment
  • departemnt
  • departmennt
  • departmentt
  • departmetn
  • departmment
  • departmnet
  • departtment
  • depatrment
  • deppartment
  • depratment
  • dpeartment
  • edpartment

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

ddepartment1deaprtment2deparmtent2deparrtment1departemnt2departmennt1departmentt1departmetn2
Edit distance from "department"

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 "department"?
"department" is spelled D-E-P-A-R-T-M-E-N-T. The IPA pronunciation is /dɪˈpɑːtm(ə)nt/.
What does "department" mean?
As a noun, "department" means: A part, portion, or subdivision.
What words are commonly confused with "department"?
"department" is commonly confused with "departmental". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "department"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "department" is /dɪˈpɑːtm(ə)nt/. 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 "department"?
From Middle English departement (“ceasing, end”), from Middle French département. Later senses borrowed from Modern French département. Doublet of département. 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 "department", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

especially#618experience#541themselves#723understand#427

Similar misspelling depth

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

production16 variantstechnology16 variantsWashington16 variantseverything16 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list