employer

/ɪmˈplɔɪə/

//ɪmˈplɔɪə// noun

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

"employer" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“employer” has 12 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #4,942. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#4,942
frequency rank, English
2,246
“E” headwords
12
tracked misspellings
6
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A person, firm or other entity which pays for or hires the services of another person.

Corpus desk

Index EN-employer · employer · English

employer · rank #4,942 · 12 variants · 6 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #4,942
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 6 pairs
  • VAR-MID 12 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,246
  • PHOTO-FINISH Evans

Nearest frequency peer: Evans (+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 “employer”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “employer” 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).

employer vs empower
75% similar
employer vs explorer
75% similar
employer vs employ
75% similar

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

Key facts for employer
PropertyValue
Headwordemployer
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ɪmˈplɔɪə/
Letters8
Frequency rank#4,942
Misspellings tracked12
Confusable pairs6
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “employer”

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).employerlands here:

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “Evans” (#4,943), “dig” (#4,940), “explosion” (#4,944). Among 2,246 “E” headwords, “employer” is #4,942. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 12 spelling variants around employer (IPA /ɪmˈplɔɪə/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #4,942 among 2,246 “E” headwords. Dominant gloss: "A person, firm or other entity which pays for or hires the services of another person.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for employer, with forms such as "emlpoyer", "emmployer", and "emplloyer". 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 6 confusable-pair relationships, "empower", "explorer", "employ", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From employ + -er, first attested in the late 16th century. Compare French employeur. The correct English form is employer, spelled E-M-P-L-O-Y-E-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    A person, firm or other entity which pays for or hires the services of another person.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. The skipper Mr. Cooke had hired at Far Harbor was a God-fearing man with a luke warm interest in his new billet and employer, and had only been prevailed upon to take charge of the yacht after the offer of an emolument equal to half a year's sea pay of an ensign in the navy.
  2. Today, at common law, the employer's duty to his employé is to use ordinary and reasonable care for the safety of his employé while he is performing his work.

Etymology

From employ + -er, first attested in the late 16th century. Compare French employeur.

Synonyms

employercompanyownerproprietorfirmbusinessestablishmentorganizationoutfit

This word in other languages

empleador(Español)employeur(Français)Arbeitgeber(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • emlpoyer
  • emmployer
  • emplloyer
  • emploeyr
  • employerr
  • employre
  • employyer
  • emplyoer
  • empolyer
  • empployer
  • epmloyer
  • meployer

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of employer - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

emlpoyer2emmployer1emplloyer1emploeyr2employerr1employre2employyer1emplyoer2
Edit distance from "employer"

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 "employer"?
"employer" is spelled E-M-P-L-O-Y-E-R. The IPA pronunciation is /ɪmˈplɔɪə/.
What does "employer" mean?
As a noun, "employer" means: A person, firm or other entity which pays for or hires the services of another person.
What words are commonly confused with "employer"?
"employer" is commonly confused with "empower", "explorer", "employ". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "employer"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "employer" is /ɪmˈplɔɪə/. 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 "employer"?
From employ + -er, first attested in the late 16th century. Compare French employeur. 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 "employer", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

generate#4,948handsome#4,950holidays#4,952pleasant#4,973

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (12 here; floor ≥5).

Charlotte12 variantscancelled12 variantsportrait12 variantsreserves12 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list