immobilize

verb

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

"immobilize" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“immobilize” is uncommon English (frequency #62,988 among 17,902 “I” headwords), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#62,988
frequency rank, English
17,902
“I” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - To render motionless; to stop moving or stop from moving.

Key facts for immobilize
PropertyValue
Headwordimmobilize
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
Letters10
Frequency rank#62,988
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “immobilize” 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). immobilize lands here:

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

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

Rare enough to double-check

immobilize is uncommon English at frequency #62,988 among 17,902 “I” headwords, classed as averb. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 4 senses are on record.

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for immobilize, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From French immobiliser, equivalent to immobile + -ize. The correct English form is immobilize, spelled I-M-M-O-B-I-L-I-Z-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    To render motionless; to stop moving or stop from moving.
  2. 2
    To render incapable of action.
  3. 3
    To modify a surface such that things will not stick to it
  4. 4
    To tie up a capital: make a capital investment that makes that capital unavailable.

Etymology

From French immobiliser, equivalent to immobile + -ize.

Synonyms

freezehaltstoparrestdraw upimmobilize

Antonyms

acceleratecontinuemove

This word in other languages

inmovilizar(Español)immobiliser(Français)immobilisieren(Deutsch)imobilizar(Português)

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 "immobilize"?
"immobilize" is spelled I-M-M-O-B-I-L-I-Z-E.
What does "immobilize" mean?
As a verb, "immobilize" means: To render motionless; to stop moving or stop from moving.
What is the origin of the word "immobilize"?
From French immobiliser, equivalent to immobile + -ize. 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 “immobilize”

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

  • The one correct English spelling is I-M-M-O-B-I-L-I-Z-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words

Other uncommon English words near this rank

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