eater

/ˈiː.tɚ/

//ˈiː.tɚ// noun

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

"eater" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“eater” has 6 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #16,697. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#16,697
frequency rank, English
2,246
“E” headwords
6
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A person or animal who eats.

Corpus desk

Index EN-eater · eater · English

eater · rank #16,697 · 6 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #16,697
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 6 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,246
  • PHOTO-FINISH drawers

Nearest frequency peer: drawers (-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 “eater”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “eater” 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).

eater vs ever
60% similar
eater vs eats
60% similar
eater vs enter
80% similar

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

Key facts for eater
PropertyValue
Headwordeater
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈiː.tɚ/
Letters5
Frequency rank#16,697
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “eater”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).eaterlands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “drawers” (#16,696), “Eaton” (#16,698), “DLC” (#16,695). Among 2,246 “E” headwords, “eater” is #16,697. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 6 spelling variants around eater (IPA /ˈiː.tɚ/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #16,697 among 2,246 “E” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for eater, with forms such as "aeter", "eaetr", and "eaterr". 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 20 confusable-pair relationships, "ever", "eats", "enter", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English eter, etere, etter, from Old English etere; equivalent to eat + -er (agent noun suffix) or + -er (patient suffix) (food suitable for eating). The correct English form is eater, spelled E-A-T-E-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    A person or animal who eats.
  2. 2
    A fruit or other food that is suitable for eating, especially one that is intended to be eaten uncooked.
  3. 3
    A configuration of cells that appears to consume another configuration by gradually causing it to disappear.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. a very fussy eater
  2. "He is the right sort of man for a labourer, but he is a terrible eater, to be sure," thought the farmer.

Etymology

From Middle English eter, etere, etter, from Old English etere; equivalent to eat + -er (agent noun suffix) or + -er (patient suffix) (food suitable for eating).

This word in other languages

comedor(Español)mangeur(Français)Esser(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • aeter
  • eaetr
  • eaterr
  • eatre
  • eatter
  • etaer

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of eater - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

aeter2eaetr2eaterr1eatre2eatter1etaer2
Edit distance from "eater"

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 "eater"?
"eater" is spelled E-A-T-E-R. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈiː.tɚ/.
What does "eater" mean?
As a noun, "eater" means: A person or animal who eats.
What words are commonly confused with "eater"?
"eater" is commonly confused with "ever", "eats", "enter". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "eater"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "eater" is /ˈiː.tɚ/. 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 "eater"?
From Middle English eter, etere, etter, from Old English etere; equivalent to eat + -er (agent noun suffix) or + -er (patient suffix) (food suitable for eating). 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 "eater", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Eaton#16,698Elias#16,700Della#16,684Cyril#16,679

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (6 here; floor ≥5).

defy6 variantshemp6 variantsbuffy6 variantsbroom6 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list