farmer

/ˈfɑɹ.mɚ/

//ˈfɑɹ.mɚ// noun

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

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

The verdict

“farmer” has 9 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #5,596. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#5,596
frequency rank, English
2,507
“F” headwords
9
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Someone or something that farms, as:

Corpus desk

Index EN-farmer · farmer · English

farmer · rank #5,596 · 9 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #5,596
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 9 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,507
  • PHOTO-FINISH embarrassing

Nearest frequency peer: embarrassing (-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 “farmer”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “farmer” 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).

farmer vs Farr
50% similar
farmer vs farms
67% similar
farmer vs freer
67% similar

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

Key facts for farmer
PropertyValue
Headwordfarmer
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈfɑɹ.mɚ/
Letters6
Frequency rank#5,596
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “farmer”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).farmerlands here:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “embarrassing” (#5,595), “finest” (#5,597), “eliminate” (#5,594). Among 2,507 “F” headwords, “farmer” is #5,596. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 9 spelling variants around farmer (IPA /ˈfɑɹ.mɚ/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #5,596 among 2,507 “F” headwords. Wiktionary lists 6 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for farmer, with forms such as "afrmer", "famrer", and "faremr". 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 20 confusable-pair relationships, "Farr", "farms", "freer", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English fermour (“a steward, bailliff, collector of taxes”), from Old French fermier (“a farmer, a lessee, husbandman, bailliff”), from Medieval Latin firmarius (“one to whom land is rented, a collector of taxes, deputy”), from firma; equivalent… The correct English form is farmer, spelled F-A-R-M-E-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    Someone or something that farms, as:
  2. 2
    Someone or something that farms, as:
  3. 3
    One who takes taxes, customs, excise, or other duties, to collect for a certain rate per cent.
  4. 4
    The lord of the field, or one who farms the lot and cope of the crown.
  5. 5
    A regular person; someone who did not receive a prestigious scholarship.
  6. 6
    A baby farmer (operator of a rural orphanage).

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. A farmer could place an order for a new tractor part by text message and pay for it by mobile money-transfer. A supplier many miles away would then take the part to the local matternet station for airborne dispatch via drone.
  2. a farmer of the revenues

Etymology

From Middle English fermour (“a steward, bailliff, collector of taxes”), from Old French fermier (“a farmer, a lessee, husbandman, bailliff”), from Medieval Latin firmarius (“one to whom land is rented, a collector of taxes, deputy”), from firma; equivalent to farm + -er. Compare Old English feormere (“a purveyor of a guild, a supplier of food, a grocer, farmer”). More at farm.

Synonyms

farmerhusbandmanneifserfvillein

This word in other languages

granjero(Español)agriculteur(Français)Landwirt(Deutsch)fazendeiro(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • afrmer
  • famrer
  • faremr
  • farmerr
  • farmmer
  • farmre
  • farrmer
  • ffarmer
  • framer

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

afrmer2famrer2faremr2farmerr1farmmer1farmre2farrmer1ffarmer1
Edit distance from "farmer"

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 "farmer"?
"farmer" is spelled F-A-R-M-E-R. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈfɑɹ.mɚ/.
What does "farmer" mean?
As a noun, "farmer" means: Someone or something that farms, as:
What words are commonly confused with "farmer"?
"farmer" is commonly confused with "Farr", "farms", "freer". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "farmer"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "farmer" is /ˈfɑɹ.mɚ/. 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 "farmer"?
From Middle English fermour (“a steward, bailliff, collector of taxes”), from Old French fermier (“a farmer, a lessee, husbandman, bailliff”), from Medieval Latin firmarius (“one to whom land is rented, a collector of taxes, deputy”), from firma; ... 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 "farmer", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

finest#5,597grants#5,598harbor#5,599Harvey#5,600

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (9 here; floor ≥5).

inform9 variantsJeremy9 variantslovers9 variantsCollins9 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list