dilate
/daɪˈleɪt/
"dilate" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“dilate” is an uncommon English word, ranked #56,708 in English word frequency and used as a verb.
- #56,708
- frequency rank, English
- 6
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - To enlarge; to make bigger.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | dilate |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /daɪˈleɪt/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #56,708 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “dilate” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for dilate is 6 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /daɪˈleɪt/. Corpus data places it at rank #56,708 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 4 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for dilate, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. Our dataset records no confusable match here, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.
Etymologically, the entry records: First attested in 1393, in Middle English; inherited from Middle English dilaten, from Old French dilater, from Latin dīlātō (“to spread out”), from dī- + lātus (“wide”) + -ō (verb-forming suffix). Doublet of dilatate. The correct English form is dilate, spelled D-I-L-A-T-E.
Definition
- 1To enlarge; to make bigger.
- 2To become wider or larger; to expand.
- 3To speak largely and copiously; to dwell in narration; to enlarge; with "on" or "upon".
- 4To use a dilator to widen (something, such as a vagina).
Etymology
First attested in 1393, in Middle English; inherited from Middle English dilaten, from Old French dilater, from Latin dīlātō (“to spread out”), from dī- + lātus (“wide”) + -ō (verb-forming suffix). Doublet of dilatate.
This word in other languages
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 “dilate”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is D-I-L-A-T-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /daɪˈleɪt/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- 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.