facility

/fəˈsɪl.ᵻ.ti/

//fəˈsɪl.ᵻ.ti// noun

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

The verdict

“facility” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #2,484 in English word frequency and used as a noun.

#2,484
frequency rank, English
8
letters
12
tracked misspellings
4
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The physical means or contrivances to make something (especially a public service) possible; the required equipment, infrastructure, location etc.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

facility vs faculty
75% similar
facility vs fatality
75% similar
facility vs futility
75% similar

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

Key facts for facility
PropertyValue
Headwordfacility
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/fəˈsɪl.ᵻ.ti/
Letters8
Frequency rank#2,484
Misspellings tracked12
Confusable pairs4
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “facility” sits in English frequency

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

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for facility is 8 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /fəˈsɪl.ᵻ.ti/. Corpus data places it at rank #2,484 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 8 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for facility, with forms such as "afcility", "faccility", and "faciilty". 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 4 confusable-pair relationships, "faculty", "fatality", "futility", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English facilite, from Middle French facilité, and its source, Latin facilitās. By surface analysis, facile + -ity. Doublet of faculty. The correct English form is facility, spelled F-A-C-I-L-I-T-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    The physical means or contrivances to make something (especially a public service) possible; the required equipment, infrastructure, location etc.
  2. 2
    A building or campus specially designed for a specific purpose, such as incarceration, military use, or scientific experimentation.
  3. 3
    The fact of being easy, or easily done; absence of difficulty; simplicity.
  4. 4
    Dexterity of speech or action; skill, talent.
  5. 5
    Clipping of credit facility.
  6. 6
    A toilet.
  7. 7
    A condition of mental weakness less than idiocy, but enough to make a person easily persuaded to do something against their better interest.
  8. 8
    Affability.

Etymology

From Middle English facilite, from Middle French facilité, and its source, Latin facilitās. By surface analysis, facile + -ity. Doublet of faculty.

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: afcility,faccility,faciilty,facilitty,facilityy,faciliyt,facillity,faciltiy,facliity,faiclity,fcaility,ffacility

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

afcility2faccility1faciilty2facilitty1facilityy1faciliyt2facillity1faciltiy2
Edit distance from "facility"

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 "facility"?
"facility" is spelled F-A-C-I-L-I-T-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /fəˈsɪl.ᵻ.ti/.
What does "facility" mean?
As a noun, "facility" means: The physical means or contrivances to make something (especially a public service) possible; the required equipment, infrastructure, location etc.
What words are commonly confused with "facility"?
"facility" is commonly confused with "faculty", "fatality", "futility". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "facility"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "facility" is /fəˈsɪl.ᵻ.ti/. 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 "facility"?
From Middle English facilite, from Middle French facilité, and its source, Latin facilitās. By surface analysis, facile + -ity. Doublet of faculty. 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.

Using “facility”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is F-A-C-I-L-I-T-Y - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /fəˈsɪl.ᵻ.ti/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “faculty” - see the side-by-side comparison. facility vs faculty
  • 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list