minister

/ˈmɪn.əˌstɚ/

//ˈmɪn.əˌstɚ// noun

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

"minister" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“minister” is in the everyday core of English, ranked #972 in English word frequency and used as a noun.

#972
frequency rank, English
8
letters
12
tracked misspellings
7
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A person who is trained to preach, to perform religious ceremonies, and to afford pastoral care at a Protestant church.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

minister vs mister
75% similar
minister vs monster
75% similar
minister vs Munster
63% similar

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

Key facts for minister
PropertyValue
Headwordminister
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈmɪn.əˌstɚ/
Letters8
Frequency rank#972
Misspellings tracked12
Confusable pairs7
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “minister” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). minister lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for minister is 8 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈmɪn.əˌstɚ/. Corpus data places it at rank #972 in overall English word frequency, putting it firmly in the everyday core of the language. Wiktionary records 5 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for minister, with forms such as "imnister", "miinster", and "minisetr". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 7 confusable-pair relationships, "mister", "monster", "Munster", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English ministre, from Old French ministre, from Latin minister (“an attendant, servant, assistant, a priest's assistant or other under official”), from minor (“less”) + -ter; see minor. Doublet of Minorite. The correct English form is minister, spelled M-I-N-I-S-T-E-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    A person who is trained to preach, to perform religious ceremonies, and to afford pastoral care at a Protestant church.
  2. 2
    A person (either a layperson or an ordained clergy member) who is commissioned to perform some act on behalf of the Catholic Church.
  3. 3
    A politician who heads a ministry
  4. 4
    In diplomacy, the rank of diplomat directly below ambassador.
  5. 5
    A servant; a subordinate; an officer or assistant of inferior rank; hence, an agent, an instrument.

Etymology

From Middle English ministre, from Old French ministre, from Latin minister (“an attendant, servant, assistant, a priest's assistant or other under official”), from minor (“less”) + -ter; see minor. Doublet of Minorite.

This word in other languages

ministro(Español)pasteur(Français)Pfarrer(Deutsch)pastor(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: imnister,miinster,minisetr,minisster,ministerr,ministre,ministter,minitser,minnister,minsiter,mminister,mniister

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

imnister2miinster2minisetr2minisster1ministerr1ministre2ministter1minitser2
Edit distance from "minister"

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 "minister"?
"minister" is spelled M-I-N-I-S-T-E-R. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈmɪn.əˌstɚ/.
What does "minister" mean?
As a noun, "minister" means: A person who is trained to preach, to perform religious ceremonies, and to afford pastoral care at a Protestant church.
What words are commonly confused with "minister"?
"minister" is commonly confused with "mister", "monster", "Munster". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "minister"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "minister" is /ˈmɪn.əˌstɚ/. 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 "minister"?
From Middle English ministre, from Old French ministre, from Latin minister (“an attendant, servant, assistant, a priest's assistant or other under official”), from minor (“less”) + -ter; see minor. Doublet of Minorite. 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.

Using “minister”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is M-I-N-I-S-T-E-R - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /ˈmɪn.əˌstɚ/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “mister” - see the side-by-side comparison. minister vs mister
  • 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list