meteor
/ˈmiːtɪ.ə/
"meteor" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“meteor” has 8 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #13,959. The variants make it a useful spelling check.
- #13,959
- frequency rank, English
- 4,057
- “M” headwords
- 8
- tracked misspellings
- 11
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - An atmospheric or meteorological phenomenon. These were sometimes classified as aerial or airy meteors (winds), aqueous or watery meteors (hydrometeors: clouds, rain, snow, hail, dew, frost), lumin...
Corpus desk
Index EN-meteor · meteor · English
meteor · rank #13,959 · 8 variants · 11 confusables
- FREQ-MID #13,959
- LEN-LONG 6 letters
- VOW-3 3 vowels
- CONFUS-MID 11 pairs
- VAR-MID 8 variants
- BOOK-MID 4,057
- PHOTO-FINISH messiah
Nearest frequency peer: messiah (-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 “meteor”
Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword
- meltdown
meltdown
86,044 corpus weight
- messiah
messiah
86,043 corpus weight
- meteor
meteor
86,042 corpus weight
- ministerial
ministerial
86,041 corpus weight
- mmm
mmm
86,040 corpus weight
- mocking
mocking
86,039 corpus weight
What this shows “meteor” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.
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 | meteor |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈmiːtɪ.ə/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #13,959 |
| Misspellings tracked | 8 |
| Confusable pairs | 11 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “meteor”
A misspelling magnet
The generator records 8 spelling variants around meteor (IPA /ˈmiːtɪ.ə/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #13,959 among 4,057 “M” headwords. Wiktionary lists 5 senses, so context still picks the gloss.
Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for meteor, with forms such as "emteor", "meetor", and "meteorr". 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 11 confusable-pair relationships, "motor", "meter", "Meyer", 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 French météore, from Old French, from Latin meteorum, from Ancient Greek μετέωρον (metéōron), from μετέωρος (metéōros, “raised from the ground, hanging, lofty”), from μετά (metá, “in the midst of, among, between”) (English meta) + ἀείρω (aeírō, … The correct English form is meteor, spelled M-E-T-E-O-R.
Definition
- 1An atmospheric or meteorological phenomenon. These were sometimes classified as aerial or airy meteors (winds), aqueous or watery meteors (hydrometeors: clouds, rain, snow, hail, dew, frost), luminous meteors (rainbows and aurora), and igneous or fiery meteors (lightning and shooting stars).
- 2A fast-moving streak of light in the night sky caused by the entry of extraterrestrial matter into the earth's atmosphere; a shooting star or falling star.
- 3A prop similar to poi balls, in that it is twirled at the end of a cord or cable.
- 4A striking weapon resembling a track and field hammer consisting of a weight swung at the end of a cable or chain.
- 5Any short-lived source of wonderment.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how meteor appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Europe, where the Sun dares ſcarce appeare, For freezing Meteors and congealed cold: […]
The twilight, the meteors call'd fire-balls, or flying dragons, and the northern lights, inhabit the higher regions of the atmosphere.
Etymology
From Middle French météore, from Old French, from Latin meteorum, from Ancient Greek μετέωρον (metéōron), from μετέωρος (metéōros, “raised from the ground, hanging, lofty”), from μετά (metá, “in the midst of, among, between”) (English meta) + ἀείρω (aeírō, “to lift, to heave, to raise up”). The original sense of “atmospheric phenomenon” gave rise to meteorology, but the meaning of "meteor" is now restricted to extraterrestrial objects burning up as they enter the atmosphere.
Synonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as:
- emteor
- meetor
- meteorr
- metero
- metoer
- metteor
- mmeteor
- mteeor
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of meteor - 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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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "meteor", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).
Similar misspelling depth
Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (8 here; floor ≥5).