primate

/ˈpɹaɪmeɪt/

//ˈpɹaɪmeɪt// noun

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

"primate" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“primate” has 10 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #24,282. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#24,282
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords
10
tracked misspellings
15
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A mammal of the order Primates, including apes (which include humans), monkeys, lemurs, tarsiers, lorisids, and galagos.

Corpus desk

Index EN-primate · primate · English

primate · rank #24,282 · 10 variants · 15 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #24,282
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 15 pairs
  • VAR-MID 10 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH prentice

Nearest frequency peer: prentice (-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 “primate”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “primate” 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).

primate vs prime
71% similar
primate vs private
86% similar
primate vs promote
71% similar

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

Key facts for primate
PropertyValue
Headwordprimate
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈpɹaɪmeɪt/
Letters7
Frequency rank#24,282
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs15
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “primate”

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).primatelands here:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “prentice” (#24,281), “proverb” (#24,283), “powerfully” (#24,280). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “primate” is #24,282. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 10 spelling variants around primate (IPA /ˈpɹaɪmeɪt/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #24,282 among 4,417 “P” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for primate, with forms such as "pirmate", "pprimate", and "priamte". 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 15 confusable-pair relationships, "prime", "private", "promote", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: First attested in 1876. From French primate, from the substantivization of Latin prīmās, prīmātis (“one of the first, chief, excellent, noble”), same as Etymology 2. So named due to the belief that primates are the highest order of mammals or animals. The correct English form is primate, spelled P-R-I-M-A-T-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A mammal of the order Primates, including apes (which include humans), monkeys, lemurs, tarsiers, lorisids, and galagos.
  2. 2
    A simian anthropoid; an ape (including human) or monkey.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. Primates range from lemurs to gorillas.

Etymology

First attested in 1876. From French primate, from the substantivization of Latin prīmās, prīmātis (“one of the first, chief, excellent, noble”), same as Etymology 2. So named due to the belief that primates are the highest order of mammals or animals.

Synonyms

primate

This word in other languages

primate(Español)primate(Français)Primat(Deutsch)primata(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • pirmate
  • pprimate
  • priamte
  • primaet
  • primatte
  • primmate
  • primtae
  • prmiate
  • prrimate
  • rpimate

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

pirmate2pprimate1priamte2primaet2primatte1primmate1primtae2prmiate2
Edit distance from "primate"

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 "primate"?
"primate" is spelled P-R-I-M-A-T-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈpɹaɪmeɪt/.
What does "primate" mean?
As a noun, "primate" means: A mammal of the order Primates, including apes (which include humans), monkeys, lemurs, tarsiers, lorisids, and galagos.
What words are commonly confused with "primate"?
"primate" is commonly confused with "prime", "private", "promote". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "primate"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "primate" is /ˈpɹaɪmeɪt/. 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 "primate"?
First attested in 1876. From French primate, from the substantivization of Latin prīmās, prīmātis (“one of the first, chief, excellent, noble”), same as Etymology 2. So named due to the belief that primates are the highest order of mammals or anim... 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 "primate", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

proverb#24,283plating#24,275ranting#24,289pinched#24,274

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (10 here; floor ≥5).

parlour10 variantsshoulda10 variantsMasonic10 variantslinkage10 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list