politico

/pəˈlɪtɪkəʊ/

//pəˈlɪtɪkəʊ// noun

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

The verdict

“politico” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #23,635 in English word frequency and used as a noun.

#23,635
frequency rank, English
8
letters
11
tracked misspellings
4
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A politician.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

politico vs portico
75% similar
politico vs politics
88% similar
politico vs politic
88% similar

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

Key facts for politico
PropertyValue
Headwordpolitico
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/pəˈlɪtɪkəʊ/
Letters8
Frequency rank#23,635
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs4
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “politico” 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). politico 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 politico is 8 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /pəˈlɪtɪkəʊ/. Corpus data places it at rank #23,635 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 5 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for politico, with forms such as "oplitico", "ploitico", and "poiltico". 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 4 confusable-pair relationships, "portico", "politics", "politic", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Italian politico or Spanish político. The correct English form is politico, spelled P-O-L-I-T-I-C-O.

Definition

  1. 1
    A politician.
  2. 2
    Someone involved in the professional life of a politician or a political campaign to varying degrees.
  3. 3
    A prominent activist.
  4. 4
    Someone with strong views regarding a political cause.
  5. 5
    Someone who follows politics regularly and is knowledgeable about at least the political news in their local area.

Etymology

From Italian politico or Spanish político.

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: oplitico,ploitico,poiltico,poliitco,politcio,politicco,politioc,polittico,pollitico,poltiico,ppolitico

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

oplitico2ploitico2poiltico2poliitco2politcio2politicco1politioc2polittico1
Edit distance from "politico"

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 "politico"?
"politico" is spelled P-O-L-I-T-I-C-O. The IPA pronunciation is /pəˈlɪtɪkəʊ/.
What does "politico" mean?
As a noun, "politico" means: A politician.
What words are commonly confused with "politico"?
"politico" is commonly confused with "portico", "politics", "politic". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "politico"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "politico" is /pəˈlɪtɪkəʊ/. 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 "politico"?
From Italian politico or Spanish político. 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 “politico”

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

  • The one correct English spelling is P-O-L-I-T-I-C-O - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /pəˈlɪtɪkəʊ/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “portico” - see the side-by-side comparison. politico vs portico
  • 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