martyr
/ˈmɐːtə(ɹ)/
"martyr" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“martyr” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #15,862 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #15,862
- frequency rank, English
- 6
- letters
- 10
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - One who willingly accepts being put to death or willingly accepts challenging and exposing iniquity done to oneself for adhering openly to one's religious beliefs; notably, saints canonized after r...
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 | martyr |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈmɐːtə(ɹ)/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #15,862 |
| Misspellings tracked | 10 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “martyr” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for martyr is 6 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈmɐːtə(ɹ)/. Corpus data places it at rank #15,862 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 4 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for martyr, with forms such as "amrtyr", "marrtyr", and "martry". 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 20 confusable-pair relationships, "Mary", "mater", "Matty", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English martir, from Old English martyr, itself a borrowing from Ecclesiastical Latin martyr, from Ancient Greek μάρτυρ (mártur), later form of μάρτυς (mártus, “witness”). The correct English form is martyr, spelled M-A-R-T-Y-R.
Definition
- 1One who willingly accepts being put to death or willingly accepts challenging and exposing iniquity done to oneself for adhering openly to one's religious beliefs; notably, saints canonized after red martyrdom.
- 2One who sacrifices their life, station, or something of great personal value, for the sake of principle or to sustain a cause.
- 3One who suffers greatly or constantly, even involuntarily.
- 4Someone who exaggerates their pain and suffering in order to gain sympathy.
Etymology
From Middle English martir, from Old English martyr, itself a borrowing from Ecclesiastical Latin martyr, from Ancient Greek μάρτυρ (mártur), later form of μάρτυς (mártus, “witness”).
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: amrtyr,marrtyr,martry,marttyr,martyrr,martyyr,marytr,matryr,mmartyr,mratyr
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of martyr - 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
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Using “martyr”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is M-A-R-T-Y-R - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈmɐːtə(ɹ)/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “Mary” - see the side-by-side comparison. martyr vs Mary
- 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.