diameter
/daɪˈæmɪtə(ɹ)/
"diameter" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“diameter” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #6,230 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #6,230
- frequency rank, English
- 8
- letters
- 11
- tracked misspellings
- 2
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Any straight line between two points on the circumference of a circle that passes through the centre/center of the circle; a chord that passes through the center of the circle.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | diameter |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /daɪˈæmɪtə(ɹ)/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #6,230 |
| Misspellings tracked | 11 |
| Confusable pairs | 2 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “diameter” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for diameter is 8 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /daɪˈæmɪtə(ɹ)/. Corpus data places it at rank #6,230 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 4 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for diameter, with forms such as "daimeter", "ddiameter", and "diaemter". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 2 confusable-pair relationships, "dieter", "diabetes", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Old French diametre (French diamètre), from Latin diametros, from Ancient Greek διάμετρος (diámetros) (γραμμή (grammḗ)) (diametros grammē, “line measuring across”), from διά (diá, “across”) + μέτρον (métron, “measure”). By surface analysis, dia- + -meter. The correct English form is diameter, spelled D-I-A-M-E-T-E-R.
Definition
- 1Any straight line between two points on the circumference of a circle that passes through the centre/center of the circle; a chord that passes through the center of the circle.
- 2The length of such a line.
- 3The maximum distance between any two points in a metric space.
- 4The maximum eccentricity over all vertices in a graph.
Etymology
From Old French diametre (French diamètre), from Latin diametros, from Ancient Greek διάμετρος (diámetros) (γραμμή (grammḗ)) (diametros grammē, “line measuring across”), from διά (diá, “across”) + μέτρον (métron, “measure”). By surface analysis, dia- + -meter.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: daimeter,ddiameter,diaemter,diameetr,diameterr,diametre,diametter,diammeter,diamteer,dimaeter,idameter
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of diameter - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
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
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Using “diameter”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is D-I-A-M-E-T-E-R - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /daɪˈæmɪtə(ɹ)/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “dieter” - see the side-by-side comparison. diameter vs dieter
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.