profiteer

/ˌpɹɒfɪˈtɪə(ɹ)/

//ˌpɹɒfɪˈtɪə(ɹ)// noun

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

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

The verdict

“profiteer” is uncommon English (frequency #93,041 among 4,417 “P” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#93,041
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - One who makes an unreasonable profit not justified by cost or risk, a rent-seeker.

Corpus desk

Index EN-profiteer · profiteer · English

profiteer · rank #93,041 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #93,041
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH prescriber

Nearest frequency peer: prescriber (-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.

Long-tail ranks near “profiteer”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “profiteer” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for profiteer
PropertyValue
Headwordprofiteer
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˌpɹɒfɪˈtɪə(ɹ)/
Letters9
Frequency rank#93,041
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “profiteer” in English

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).profiteerfalls in this rarity band:

#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. Rare peers in the same band: “prescriber” (#93,040), “premixed” (#93,039), “prosodic” (#93,043). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “profiteer” is #93,041. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

profiteer is uncommon English at frequency #93,041 among 4,417 “P” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˌpɹɒfɪˈtɪə(ɹ)/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "One who makes an unreasonable profit not justified by cost or risk, a rent-seeker.".

profiteer doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

Etymologically, the entry records: From profit + -eer. The correct English form is profiteer, spelled P-R-O-F-I-T-E-E-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    One who makes an unreasonable profit not justified by cost or risk, a rent-seeker.

Etymology

From profit + -eer.

This word in other languages

especuladora(Español)profiteur(Français)Profiteur(Deutsch)

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 "profiteer"?
"profiteer" is spelled P-R-O-F-I-T-E-E-R. The IPA pronunciation is /ˌpɹɒfɪˈtɪə(ɹ)/.
What does "profiteer" mean?
As a noun, "profiteer" means: One who makes an unreasonable profit not justified by cost or risk, a rent-seeker.
How do you pronounce "profiteer"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "profiteer" is /ˌpɹɒfɪˈtɪə(ɹ)/. 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 "profiteer"?
From profit + -eer. 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 "profiteer", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

Prabhakar#93,036powerbomb#93,035pocketful#93,026pizzicato#93,015

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list