founder

/ˈfaʊn.dɚ/

//ˈfaʊn.dɚ// noun

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

"founder" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“founder” has 10 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #3,233. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#3,233
frequency rank, English
2,507
“F” headwords
10
tracked misspellings
10
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - One who founds or establishes (a company, project, organisation, state, etc.).

Corpus desk

Index EN-founder · founder · English

founder · rank #3,233 · 10 variants · 10 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #3,233
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 10 pairs
  • VAR-MID 10 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,507
  • PHOTO-FINISH files

Nearest frequency peer: files (-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 “founder”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “founder” 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).

founder vs funded
71% similar
founder vs foundry
71% similar
founder vs Fourier
57% similar

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

Key facts for founder
PropertyValue
Headwordfounder
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈfaʊn.dɚ/
Letters7
Frequency rank#3,233
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs10
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “founder”

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).founderlands 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 “files” (#3,232), “gear” (#3,234), “extension” (#3,231). Among 2,507 “F” headwords, “founder” is #3,233. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 10 spelling variants around founder (IPA /ˈfaʊn.dɚ/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #3,233 among 2,507 “F” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for founder, with forms such as "ffounder", "fonuder", and "foudner". 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 10 confusable-pair relationships, "funded", "foundry", "Fourier", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Old French fondeur, from Latin fundātor, equivalent to found + -er. The correct English form is founder, spelled F-O-U-N-D-E-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    One who founds or establishes (a company, project, organisation, state, etc.).
  2. 2
    A common ancestor of some population (especially one with a certain genetic mutation).

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. The founder of Facebook is Mark Zuckerberg.
  2. As to eleemoſynary corporations, by the dotation the founder and his heirs are of common right the legal viſitors, to ſee that that property is rightly employed, which would otherwiſe have deſcended to the viſitor himſelf: […]

Etymology

From Old French fondeur, from Latin fundātor, equivalent to found + -er.

This word in other languages

fundador(Español)fondateur(Français)Gründer(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ffounder
  • fonuder
  • foudner
  • foundder
  • founderr
  • foundre
  • founedr
  • founnder
  • fuonder
  • ofunder

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of founder - 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.

ffounder1fonuder2foudner2foundder1founderr1foundre2founedr2founnder1
Edit distance from "founder"

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 "founder"?
"founder" is spelled F-O-U-N-D-E-R. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈfaʊn.dɚ/.
What does "founder" mean?
As a noun, "founder" means: One who founds or establishes (a company, project, organisation, state, etc.).
What words are commonly confused with "founder"?
"founder" is commonly confused with "funded", "foundry", "Fourier". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "founder"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "founder" is /ˈfaʊn.dɚ/. 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 "founder"?
From Old French fondeur, from Latin fundātor, equivalent to found + -er. 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 "founder", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Georgia#3,235element#3,228hitting#3,238courses#3,223

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (10 here; floor ≥5).

package10 variantschoices10 variantspointed10 variantsrailway10 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list