investigate

/ɪnˈvɛs.tə.ɡeɪt/

//ɪnˈvɛs.tə.ɡeɪt// verb

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

"investigate" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“investigate” has 16 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #4,243. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#4,243
frequency rank, English
2,140
“I” headwords
16
tracked misspellings
3
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To inquire into or study in order to ascertain facts or information.

Corpus desk

Index EN-investigate · investigate · English

investigate · rank #4,243 · 16 variants · 3 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #4,243
  • LEN-MEGA 11 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 3 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 16 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,140
  • PHOTO-FINISH Indiana

Nearest frequency peer: Indiana (-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 “investigate”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “investigate” 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).

investigate vs investigator
83% similar
investigate vs investigative
85% similar
investigate vs instigate
82% similar

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

Key facts for investigate
PropertyValue
Headwordinvestigate
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/ɪnˈvɛs.tə.ɡeɪt/
Letters11
Frequency rank#4,243
Misspellings tracked16
Confusable pairs3
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “investigate”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).investigatelands 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 “Indiana” (#4,242), “jazz” (#4,244), “implementation” (#4,241). Among 2,140 “I” headwords, “investigate” is #4,243. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 16 spelling variants around investigate (IPA /ɪnˈvɛs.tə.ɡeɪt/), averb. Corpus frequency is #4,243 among 2,140 “I” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 16 likely wrong-spelling variants for investigate, with forms such as "inevstigate", "innvestigate", and "invesitgate". 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 3 confusable-pair relationships, "investigator", "investigative", "instigate", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: Recorded since circa 1510, a back-formation from investigation on the basis of -ate (verb-forming suffix), from Latin investīgātiō (“a searching into”), from investīgātus, the perfect passive participle of investīgō, equivalent to in- + vestigate. Displaced… The correct English form is investigate, spelled I-N-V-E-S-T-I-G-A-T-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    To inquire into or study in order to ascertain facts or information.
  2. 2
    To examine, look into, or scrutinize in order to discover something hidden or secret.
  3. 3
    To conduct an inquiry or examination.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. to investigate the causes of natural phenomena
  2. He was asked to investigate a robbery.

Etymology

Recorded since circa 1510, a back-formation from investigation on the basis of -ate (verb-forming suffix), from Latin investīgātiō (“a searching into”), from investīgātus, the perfect passive participle of investīgō, equivalent to in- + vestigate. Displaced native Old English undersēċan (literally “to search under or between”).

Synonyms

underseek

This word in other languages

investigar(Español)étudier(Français)untersuchen(Deutsch)examinar(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • inevstigate
  • innvestigate
  • invesitgate
  • invesstigate
  • investgiate
  • investiagte
  • investigaet
  • investigatte
  • investiggate
  • investigtae
  • investtigate
  • invetsigate
  • invsetigate
  • invvestigate
  • ivnestigate
  • nivestigate

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of investigate - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

inevstigate2innvestigate1invesitgate2invesstigate1investgiate2investiagte2investigaet2investigatte1
Edit distance from "investigate"

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 "investigate"?
"investigate" is spelled I-N-V-E-S-T-I-G-A-T-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ɪnˈvɛs.tə.ɡeɪt/.
What does "investigate" mean?
As a verb, "investigate" means: To inquire into or study in order to ascertain facts or information.
What words are commonly confused with "investigate"?
"investigate" is commonly confused with "investigator", "investigative", "instigate". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "investigate"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "investigate" is /ɪnˈvɛs.tə.ɡeɪt/. 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 "investigate"?
Recorded since circa 1510, a back-formation from investigation on the basis of -ate (verb-forming suffix), from Latin investīgātiō (“a searching into”), from investīgātus, the perfect passive participle of investīgō, equivalent to in- + vestigate.... 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 "investigate", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 11 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

documentary#4,229distributed#4,227underground#4,200cooperation#4,292

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (16 here; floor ≥5).

concerning16 variantsannouncement16 variantsintellectual16 variantslegislative16 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list