empire

/ˈɛm.paɪ̯ə̯/

//ˈɛm.paɪ̯ə̯// noun

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

"empire" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“empire” has 8 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #2,789. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#2,789
frequency rank, English
2,246
“E” headwords
8
tracked misspellings
5
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A political state, often a monarchy, that has achieved a much greater current size than its initial size by conquering surrounding territories, cities or nations.

Corpus desk

Index EN-empire · empire · English

empire · rank #2,789 · 8 variants · 5 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #2,789
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 5 pairs
  • VAR-MID 8 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,246
  • PHOTO-FINISH dumb

Nearest frequency peer: dumb (-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 “empire”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “empire” 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).

empire vs entire
67% similar
empire vs expire
83% similar
empire vs expiry
67% similar

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

Key facts for empire
PropertyValue
Headwordempire
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈɛm.paɪ̯ə̯/
Letters6
Frequency rank#2,789
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs5
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “empire”

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

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “dumb” (#2,788), “exciting” (#2,790), “driven” (#2,787). Among 2,246 “E” headwords, “empire” is #2,789. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 8 spelling variants around empire (IPA /ˈɛm.paɪ̯ə̯/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #2,789 among 2,246 “E” headwords. Wiktionary lists 5 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for empire, with forms such as "emipre", "emmpire", and "empier". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 5 confusable-pair relationships, "entire", "expire", "expiry", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English empire, from Old French empire, empere, from Latin imperium, inperium (“command, control, dominion, sovereignty, a dominion, empire”), from imperare, inperare (“to command, order”), from in (“in, on”) + parare (“to make ready, order”). D… The correct English form is empire, spelled E-M-P-I-R-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A political state, often a monarchy, that has achieved a much greater current size than its initial size by conquering surrounding territories, cities or nations.
  2. 2
    A political unit ruled by an emperor or empress.
  3. 3
    The group of states or other territories that owe allegiance to an imperial power (foreign to them), when distinguished from the native territory of that power; imperial possessions.
  4. 4
    An expansive and powerful enterprise under the control of one person or group.
  5. 5
    control, dominion, sway.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. the Russian empire
  2. States and empires fail when they are no longer the solution, they are the problem.

Etymology

From Middle English empire, from Old French empire, empere, from Latin imperium, inperium (“command, control, dominion, sovereignty, a dominion, empire”), from imperare, inperare (“to command, order”), from in (“in, on”) + parare (“to make ready, order”). Doublet of empery and imperium.

This word in other languages

imperio(Español)empire(Français)Reich(Deutsch)império(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • emipre
  • emmpire
  • empier
  • empirre
  • emppire
  • emprie
  • epmire
  • mepire

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

emipre2emmpire1empier2empirre1emppire1emprie2epmire2mepire2
Edit distance from "empire"

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 "empire"?
"empire" is spelled E-M-P-I-R-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈɛm.paɪ̯ə̯/.
What does "empire" mean?
As a noun, "empire" means: A political state, often a monarchy, that has achieved a much greater current size than its initial size by conquering surrounding territories, cities or nations.
What words are commonly confused with "empire"?
"empire" is commonly confused with "entire", "expire", "expiry". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "empire"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "empire" is /ˈɛm.paɪ̯ə̯/. 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 "empire"?
From Middle English empire, from Old French empire, empere, from Latin imperium, inperium (“command, control, dominion, sovereignty, a dominion, empire”), from imperare, inperare (“to command, order”), from in (“in, on”) + parare (“to make ready, ... 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 "empire", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

driven#2,787linked#2,797client#2,780manage#2,798

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (8 here; floor ≥5).

cable8 variantsbible8 variantsprint8 variantssight8 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list