hamburger
/ˈhæmˌbɜː.ɡə/
"hamburger" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“hamburger” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #16,040 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #16,040
- frequency rank, English
- 9
- letters
- 14
- tracked misspellings
- 1
- confusable pair
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A hot sandwich consisting of a patty of cooked ground beef or a meat substitute, in a sliced bun, usually also containing salad vegetables, condiments, or both.
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 | hamburger |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈhæmˌbɜː.ɡə/ |
| Letters | 9 |
| Frequency rank | #16,040 |
| Misspellings tracked | 14 |
| Confusable pairs | 1 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “hamburger” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for hamburger is 9 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈhæmˌbɜː.ɡə/. Corpus data places it at rank #16,040 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 6 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 14 likely wrong-spelling variants for hamburger, with forms such as "ahmburger", "habmurger", and "hambburger". 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 1 confusable-pair relationship, "Hamburg", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: Shortening of Hamburger sandwich, Hamburger steak, etc.; or, less likely, borrowed from German Hamburger (“native of Hamburg”), equivalent to Hamburg + -er. The correct English form is hamburger, spelled H-A-M-B-U-R-G-E-R.
Definition
- 1A hot sandwich consisting of a patty of cooked ground beef or a meat substitute, in a sliced bun, usually also containing salad vegetables, condiments, or both.
- 2The patty used in such a sandwich.
- 3Ground beef, especially that intended to be made into hamburgers.
- 4An animal or human, or the flesh thereof, that has been badly injured as a result of an accident or conflict.
- 5Ellipsis of hamburger button.
- 6Describing the shape of a rectangular piece of paper folded in half so that it forms a short rectangle.
Etymology
Shortening of Hamburger sandwich, Hamburger steak, etc.; or, less likely, borrowed from German Hamburger (“native of Hamburg”), equivalent to Hamburg + -er.
Synonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: ahmburger,habmurger,hambburger,hambruger,hambugrer,hamburegr,hamburgerr,hamburgger,hamburgre,hamburrger,hammburger,hamubrger,hhamburger,hmaburger
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of hamburger - 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.
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 "hamburger"?
What does "hamburger" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "hamburger"?
How do you pronounce "hamburger"?
What is the origin of the word "hamburger"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “hamburger”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is H-A-M-B-U-R-G-E-R - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈhæmˌbɜː.ɡə/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “Hamburg” - see the side-by-side comparison. hamburger vs Hamburg
- 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.