escalator
/ˈɛs.kə.leɪ.tə/
"escalator" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“escalator” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #28,195 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #28,195
- frequency rank, English
- 9
- letters
- 13
- tracked misspellings
- 3
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Anything that escalates.
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 | escalator |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈɛs.kə.leɪ.tə/ |
| Letters | 9 |
| Frequency rank | #28,195 |
| Misspellings tracked | 13 |
| Confusable pairs | 3 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “escalator” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for escalator is 9 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈɛs.kə.leɪ.tə/. Corpus data places it at rank #28,195 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.
Our generated misspelling index lists 13 likely wrong-spelling variants for escalator, with forms such as "ecsalator", "esaclator", and "escaaltor". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 3 confusable-pair relationships, "excavator", "escalate", "escalation", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: From the former trademark Escalator, created by American inventor Charles Seeberger in 1900, from Latin e (“from, out of”) + scala (“ladder”) + -tor, which forms nouns of agency. See the appendix. Broader usage may be influenced by escalate, and is equivale… The correct English form is escalator, spelled E-S-C-A-L-A-T-O-R.
Definition
- 1Anything that escalates.
- 2A motor-driven mechanical device consisting of a continuous loop of steps that automatically conveys people from one floor to another.
- 3An upward or progressive course.
- 4An escalator clause.
Etymology
From the former trademark Escalator, created by American inventor Charles Seeberger in 1900, from Latin e (“from, out of”) + scala (“ladder”) + -tor, which forms nouns of agency. See the appendix. Broader usage may be influenced by escalate, and is equivalent to escalate + -or. For an alternative etymology, see the Online Etymology Dictionary.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: ecsalator,esaclator,escaaltor,escalaotr,escalatorr,escalatro,escalattor,escallator,escaltaor,esccalator,esclaator,esscalator,secalator
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of escalator - 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.
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 "escalator"?
What does "escalator" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "escalator"?
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Using “escalator”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is E-S-C-A-L-A-T-O-R - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈɛs.kə.leɪ.tə/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “excavator” - see the side-by-side comparison. escalator vs excavator
- 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.