fisherman

/ˈfɪʃ.ə.mən/

//ˈfɪʃ.ə.mən// noun

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

"fisherman" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“fisherman” has 14 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #15,169. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#15,169
frequency rank, English
2,507
“F” headwords
14
tracked misspellings
2
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A fisher, a person engaged in fishing:

Corpus desk

Index EN-fisherman · fisherman · English

fisherman · rank #15,169 · 14 variants · 2 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #15,169
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 2 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 14 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,507
  • PHOTO-FINISH fingerprint

Nearest frequency peer: fingerprint (-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 “fisherman”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “fisherman” 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).

fisherman vs fishman
78% similar
fisherman vs fishermen
89% similar

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

Key facts for fisherman
PropertyValue
Headwordfisherman
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈfɪʃ.ə.mən/
Letters9
Frequency rank#15,169
Misspellings tracked14
Confusable pairs2
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “fisherman”

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).fishermanlands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “fingerprint” (#15,168), “flap” (#15,170), “fielding” (#15,167). Among 2,507 “F” headwords, “fisherman” is #15,169. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 14 spelling variants around fisherman (IPA /ˈfɪʃ.ə.mən/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #15,169 among 2,507 “F” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 14 likely wrong-spelling variants for fisherman, with forms such as "ffisherman", "fihserman", and "fisehrman". 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 2 confusable-pair relationships, "fishman", "fishermen", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From fisher + -man. The correct English form is fisherman, spelled F-I-S-H-E-R-M-A-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    A fisher, a person engaged in fishing:
  2. 2
    A fisher, a person engaged in fishing:
  3. 3
    A vessel (boat or ship) used for fishing.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. The fisherman casts her line.
  2. Ivor had acquired more than a mile of fishing rights with the house ; he was not at all a good fisherman, but one must do something ; one generally, however, banged a ball with a squash-racket against a wall.

Etymology

From fisher + -man.

Synonyms

fisher

This word in other languages

pescador(Español)pêcheur(Français)Fischer(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ffisherman
  • fihserman
  • fisehrman
  • fishemran
  • fisheramn
  • fishermann
  • fishermman
  • fishermna
  • fisherrman
  • fishherman
  • fishreman
  • fissherman
  • fsiherman
  • ifsherman

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of fisherman - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

ffisherman1fihserman2fisehrman2fishemran2fisheramn2fishermann1fishermman1fishermna2
Edit distance from "fisherman"

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 "fisherman"?
"fisherman" is spelled F-I-S-H-E-R-M-A-N. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈfɪʃ.ə.mən/.
What does "fisherman" mean?
As a noun, "fisherman" means: A fisher, a person engaged in fishing:
What words are commonly confused with "fisherman"?
"fisherman" is commonly confused with "fishman", "fishermen". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "fisherman"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "fisherman" is /ˈfɪʃ.ə.mən/. 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 "fisherman"?
From fisher + -man. 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 "fisherman", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

forgiving#15,172fractured#15,173homestead#15,187intellect#15,195

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (14 here; floor ≥5).

grassroots14 variantsintending14 variantsconcurrent14 variantscommemorate14 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list