meritocracy

/mɛɹɪˈtɒkɹəsi/

//mɛɹɪˈtɒkɹəsi// noun

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

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

The verdict

“meritocracy” is uncommon English (frequency #50,066 among 4,057 “M” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#50,066
frequency rank, English
4,057
“M” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Rule by merit and talent.

Corpus desk

Index EN-meritocracy · meritocracy · English

meritocracy · rank #50,066 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #50,066
  • LEN-MEGA 11 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,057
  • PHOTO-FINISH McCown

Nearest frequency peer: McCown (-2 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.

Long-tail ranks near “meritocracy”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “meritocracy” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for meritocracy
PropertyValue
Headwordmeritocracy
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/mɛɹɪˈtɒkɹəsi/
Letters11
Frequency rank#50,066
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “meritocracy” in English

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).meritocracyfalls in this rarity band:

#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. Rare peers in the same band: “McCown” (#50,064), “metformin” (#50,068), “MAV” (#50,063). Among 4,057 “M” headwords, “meritocracy” is #50,066. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

meritocracy is uncommon English at frequency #50,066 among 4,057 “M” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /mɛɹɪˈtɒkɹəsi/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

Zero misspellings are on record for meritocracy in our index, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. 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 merit + -o- + -cracy, coined by British sociologist Alan Fox in 1956 in an article in Socialist Commentary from May 1956, used as a derisive term, and popularized by British sociologist Michael Young, Baron Young of Dartington in his 1958 book The Rise… The correct English form is meritocracy, spelled M-E-R-I-T-O-C-R-A-C-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    Rule by merit and talent.
  2. 2
    A type of society where wealth, income, and social status are assigned through competition.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. As a small nation without natural resources, Singapore relies on education and meritocracy to develop its economy.
  2. In Markovits’s telling, the rise of the meritocracy is a story of unintended consequences.

Etymology

From merit + -o- + -cracy, coined by British sociologist Alan Fox in 1956 in an article in Socialist Commentary from May 1956, used as a derisive term, and popularized by British sociologist Michael Young, Baron Young of Dartington in his 1958 book The Rise of the Meritocracy.

This word in other languages

meritocracia(Español)méritocratie(Français)Meritokratie(Deutsch)meritocracia(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 "meritocracy"?
"meritocracy" is spelled M-E-R-I-T-O-C-R-A-C-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /mɛɹɪˈtɒkɹəsi/.
What does "meritocracy" mean?
As a noun, "meritocracy" means: Rule by merit and talent.
How do you pronounce "meritocracy"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "meritocracy" is /mɛɹɪˈtɒkɹəsi/. 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 "meritocracy"?
From merit + -o- + -cracy, coined by British sociologist Alan Fox in 1956 in an article in Socialist Commentary from May 1956, used as a derisive term, and popularized by British sociologist Michael Young, Baron Young of Dartington in his 1958 boo... 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 "meritocracy", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

O'Callaghan#50,121impertinent#50,000overfishing#50,133playfulness#50,156

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list