offender
/əˈfen.dɚ/noun
offender is spelled O-F-F-E-N-D-E-R: 8 letters and 3 syllables. It appears 5.0 times per million words in written English, the 11,198th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, offender means “One who gives or causes offense, or does something wrong” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of offender is offenders.
How many letters and syllables are in offender?
| Letters | 8: O-F-F-E-N-D-E-R |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 5.0 times per million words; the 11,198th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is offender?
Offender appears 5.0 times per million words in written English, the 11,198th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce offender?
- UK /əˈfen.də(ɹ)/
- US /əˈfen.dɚ/
Offender has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-offender.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with offender?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as offender (/endəɹ/).
Spelled with the same letters in another order: reoffend.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of offender
- offenders plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does offender mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
One who gives or causes offense, or does something wrong.
- 2
A person who commits an offense against the law, a lawbreaker.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you abbreviate offender?
Wiktionary records one abbreviation of offender: off..
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Offender in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | Täter , Täterin, Straftäter, Straftäterin |
| Portuguese | ofensor , transgressor, criminoso, réu |
| Spanish | ofensor, ofendedor |
| French | contrevenant |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does offender come from?
From Middle English offendour, offender, offendir, equivalent to offend + -er.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).