maneuver
/məˈnuvɚ/
"maneuver" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“maneuver” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #14,363 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #14,363
- frequency rank, English
- 8
- letters
- 11
- tracked misspellings
- 1
- confusable pair
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The planned movement of troops, vehicles etc.; a strategic repositioning; (later also) a large training field-exercise of fighting units.
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 | maneuver |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /məˈnuvɚ/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #14,363 |
| Misspellings tracked | 11 |
| Confusable pairs | 1 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “maneuver” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for maneuver is 8 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /məˈnuvɚ/. Corpus data places it at rank #14,363 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 5 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for maneuver, with forms such as "amneuver", "maenuver", and "maneuevr". 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, "makeover", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle French manœuvre (“manipulation, maneuver”) and manouvrer (“to maneuver”), from Old French manovre (“handwork, manual labor”), from Medieval Latin manopera, manuopera (“work done by hand, handwork”), from manu (“by hand”) + operari (“to work”). F… The correct English form is maneuver, spelled M-A-N-E-U-V-E-R.
Definition
- 1The planned movement of troops, vehicles etc.; a strategic repositioning; (later also) a large training field-exercise of fighting units.
- 2Any strategic or cunning action; a stratagem.
- 3A movement of the body, or with an implement, instrument etc., especially one performed with skill or dexterity.
- 4A specific medical or surgical movement, often eponymous, done with the doctor's hands or surgical instruments.
- 5A controlled (especially skillful) movement taken while steering a vehicle.
Etymology
From Middle French manœuvre (“manipulation, maneuver”) and manouvrer (“to maneuver”), from Old French manovre (“handwork, manual labor”), from Medieval Latin manopera, manuopera (“work done by hand, handwork”), from manu (“by hand”) + operari (“to work”). First recorded in the Capitularies of Charlemagne (800 AD) to mean "chore, manual task", probably as a calque of the Frankish *handuwerk (“hand-work”). Compare Old English handweorc, Old English handġeweorc, German Handwerk. The verb is a doublet of the verb manure.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: amneuver,maenuver,maneuevr,maneuverr,maneuvre,maneuvver,manevuer,manneuver,manuever,mmaneuver,mnaeuver
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of maneuver - 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 "maneuver"?
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Using “maneuver”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is M-A-N-E-U-V-E-R - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /məˈnuvɚ/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “makeover” - see the side-by-side comparison. maneuver vs makeover
- 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.