patrol

/pəˈtɹəʊl/

//pəˈtɹəʊl// noun

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

"patrol" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“patrol” has 9 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #5,720. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#5,720
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords
9
tracked misspellings
14
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A going of the rounds along the chain of sentinels and between the posts, by a guard, usually consisting of three or four men, to insure greater security from attacks on the outposts.

Corpus desk

Index EN-patrol · patrol · English

patrol · rank #5,720 · 9 variants · 14 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #5,720
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 14 pairs
  • VAR-MID 9 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH organ

Nearest frequency peer: organ (-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 “patrol”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “patrol” 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

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

patrol vs patron
83% similar
patrol vs petrol
83% similar
patrol vs Patton
50% similar

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

Key facts for patrol
PropertyValue
Headwordpatrol
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/pəˈtɹəʊl/
Letters6
Frequency rank#5,720
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs14
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “patrol”

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

#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. Same rarity band neighbours include “organ” (#5,719), “pearl” (#5,721), “peer” (#5,722). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “patrol” is #5,720. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 9 spelling variants around patrol (IPA /pəˈtɹəʊl/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #5,720 among 4,417 “P” headwords. Wiktionary lists 6 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for patrol, with forms such as "aptrol", "partol", and "patorl". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 14 confusable-pair relationships, "patron", "petrol", "Patton", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From French patrouille, from Old French patrouille, patouille (“a night-watch”, literally “a tramping about”), from patrouiller, patouiller, patoiller (“to paddle or pudder in water, dabble with the feet, begrime, besmear”), from patte, pate (“paw, foot of … The correct English form is patrol, spelled P-A-T-R-O-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    A going of the rounds along the chain of sentinels and between the posts, by a guard, usually consisting of three or four men, to insure greater security from attacks on the outposts.
  2. 2
    A movement, by a small body of troops beyond the line of outposts, to explore the country and gain intelligence of the enemy's whereabouts.
  3. 3
    The guards who go the rounds for observation; a detachment whose duty it is to patrol.
  4. 4
    The largest division of officers within a police department or sheriff's office, whose assignment is to patrol and respond to calls for service.
  5. 5
    Any perambulation of a particular line or district to guard it; also, the people thus guarding.
  6. 6
    A unit of a troop, usually defined by certain ranks or age groups within the troop, and ideally comprised of six to eight members.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Four members of the squadron were on patrol.
  2. The watch consisted of twelve convicts—men selected for their good behaviour. Immediately after tattoo had beat they began their patrol. 'No complaint was ever made of them,' remarks Phillip, and they were expressly cautioned to avoid disputes with soldiers or seamen ( many of whom were as great thieves as the convicts themselves).

Etymology

From French patrouille, from Old French patrouille, patouille (“a night-watch”, literally “a tramping about”), from patrouiller, patouiller, patoiller (“to paddle or pudder in water, dabble with the feet, begrime, besmear”), from patte, pate (“paw, foot of an animal”), from Vulgar Latin *patta (“paw, foot”), from Frankish *patta (“paw, sole of the foot”), from Proto-Germanic *paþjaną, *paþōną (“to walk, tread, go, step, pace”), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *(s)pent-, *(s)pat- (“path; to walk”), a variant of Proto-Indo-European *pent-, *pat- (“path; to go”); see find. Cognate with Dutch pad, patte (“paw”), Low German pedden (“to step, tread”), German patschen (“to splash, smack, dabble, waddle”), German Patsche (“a swatter, beater, paw, puddle, mire”). Related to pad, path.

This word in other languages

patrulla(Español)patrouille(Français)Patrouille(Deutsch)patrulha(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • aptrol
  • partol
  • patorl
  • patrlo
  • patroll
  • patrrol
  • pattrol
  • ppatrol
  • ptarol

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

aptrol2partol2patorl2patrlo2patroll1patrrol1pattrol1ppatrol1
Edit distance from "patrol"

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 "patrol"?
"patrol" is spelled P-A-T-R-O-L. The IPA pronunciation is /pəˈtɹəʊl/.
What does "patrol" mean?
As a noun, "patrol" means: A going of the rounds along the chain of sentinels and between the posts, by a guard, usually consisting of three or four men, to insure greater security from attacks on the outposts.
What words are commonly confused with "patrol"?
"patrol" is commonly confused with "patron", "petrol", "Patton". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "patrol"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "patrol" is /pəˈtɹəʊl/. 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 "patrol"?
From French patrouille, from Old French patrouille, patouille (“a night-watch”, literally “a tramping about”), from patrouiller, patouiller, patoiller (“to paddle or pudder in water, dabble with the feet, begrime, besmear”), from patte, pate (“paw... 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 "patrol", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

pepper#5,723Norman#5,716scream#5,732stairs#5,733

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (9 here; floor ≥5).

Syrian9 variantsteenage9 variantsinstall9 variantsacquire9 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list