ombudsman

/ˈɒmbədzmən/

//ˈɒmbədzmən// noun

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

"ombudsman" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“ombudsman” has 14 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #24,262. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#24,262
frequency rank, English
1,431
“O” headwords
14
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - An appointed official whose duty is to investigate complaints, generally on behalf of individuals such as consumers or taxpayers, against institutions such as companies and government departments.

Corpus desk

Index EN-ombudsman · ombudsman · English

ombudsman · rank #24,262 · 14 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #24,262
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 14 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,431
  • PHOTO-FINISH Oleg

Nearest frequency peer: Oleg (-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 “ombudsman”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “ombudsman” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for ombudsman
PropertyValue
Headwordombudsman
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈɒmbədzmən/
Letters9
Frequency rank#24,262
Misspellings tracked14
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “ombudsman”

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).ombudsmanlands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “Oleg” (#24,261), “ordinances” (#24,263), “Oldham” (#24,260). Among 1,431 “O” headwords, “ombudsman” is #24,262. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 14 spelling variants around ombudsman (IPA /ˈɒmbədzmən/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #24,262 among 1,431 “O” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 14 likely wrong-spelling variants for ombudsman, with forms such as "mobudsman", "obmudsman", and "ombbudsman". 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. Our dataset records no confusable match here, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Swedish ombudsman (equivalent to ombud (“representative, proxy”) + man), from Old Norse umboðsmaðr. The correct English form is ombudsman, spelled O-M-B-U-D-S-M-A-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    An appointed official whose duty is to investigate complaints, generally on behalf of individuals such as consumers or taxpayers, against institutions such as companies and government departments.
  2. 2
    A designated internal mediator in an organization whose duty is to assist members with conflict resolution and other problems and to serve as an independent consultant to recommend changes to policies or procedures to improve organization effectiveness, efficiency, and humaneness.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. "All the Nordic ombudsmen have the same view: that circumcision of boys should not be done until the boy is old enough to decide himself if is something he wants to do,” Anne Lindboe, Norway's Ombudsman for Children, told DW.
  2. The ombudsman found that youth living at El Pueblo remained under the care and supervision of staff who had been accused of abusing them. In one case, a youth was reportedly dragged across the carpet by two staff members, resulting in rugburns on his face.

Etymology

Borrowed from Swedish ombudsman (equivalent to ombud (“representative, proxy”) + man), from Old Norse umboðsmaðr.

This word in other languages

mediador(Español)ombudsman(Français)Ombudsmann(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • mobudsman
  • obmudsman
  • ombbudsman
  • ombdusman
  • ombuddsman
  • ombudmsan
  • ombudsamn
  • ombudsmann
  • ombudsmman
  • ombudsmna
  • ombudssman
  • ombusdman
  • ommbudsman
  • omubdsman

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of ombudsman - 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.

mobudsman2obmudsman2ombbudsman1ombdusman2ombuddsman1ombudmsan2ombudsamn2ombudsmann1
Edit distance from "ombudsman"

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 "ombudsman"?
"ombudsman" is spelled O-M-B-U-D-S-M-A-N. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈɒmbədzmən/.
What does "ombudsman" mean?
As a noun, "ombudsman" means: An appointed official whose duty is to investigate complaints, generally on behalf of individuals such as consumers or taxpayers, against institutions such as companies and government departments.
What are common misspellings of "ombudsman"?
Common misspellings include "mobudsman", "obmudsman", "ombbudsman", "ombdusman", "ombuddsman". The correct spelling is "ombudsman".
How do you pronounce "ombudsman"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "ombudsman" is /ˈɒmbədzmən/. 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 "ombudsman"?
Borrowed from Swedish ombudsman (equivalent to ombud (“representative, proxy”) + man), from Old Norse umboðsmaðr. 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 "ombudsman", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

overtaken#24,264lecturing#24,223sedentary#24,303shivering#24,306

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (14 here; floor ≥5).

periodical14 variantspowerfully14 variantsmessengers14 variantssteadfast14 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list