inmate
/ˈɪn.meɪt/
"inmate" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“inmate” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #14,143 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #14,143
- frequency rank, English
- 6
- letters
- 8
- tracked misspellings
- 14
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A person confined to an institution such as a prison (as a convict) or hospital (as a patient).
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 | inmate |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈɪn.meɪt/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #14,143 |
| Misspellings tracked | 8 |
| Confusable pairs | 14 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “inmate” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for inmate is 6 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈɪn.meɪt/. Corpus data places it at rank #14,143 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for inmate, with forms such as "imnate", "inamte", and "inmaet". 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 14 confusable-pair relationships, "irate", "insane", "invite", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: From inn + -mate, or from in- + -mate. The correct English form is inmate, spelled I-N-M-A-T-E.
Definition
- 1A person confined to an institution such as a prison (as a convict) or hospital (as a patient).
- 2A person who shares a residence (such as a hotel guest, a lodger, or a student living on campus), or other place.
- 3Synonym of passenger, a person held or riding within a vehicle.
Etymology
From inn + -mate, or from in- + -mate.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: imnate,inamte,inmaet,inmatte,inmmate,inmtae,innmate,nimate
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of inmate - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
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
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Using “inmate”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is I-N-M-A-T-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈɪn.meɪt/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “irate” - see the side-by-side comparison. inmate vs irate
- 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.