recommend

/ˌɹɛkəˈmɛnd/

//ˌɹɛkəˈmɛnd// verb

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

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

The verdict

“recommend” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #2,459 in English word frequency and used as a verb.

#2,459
frequency rank, English
9
letters
12
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - To bestow commendation on; to represent favourably; to suggest, endorse or encourage as an appropriate choice.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

recommend vs recommended
82% similar

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

Key facts for recommend
PropertyValue
Headwordrecommend
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/ˌɹɛkəˈmɛnd/
Letters9
Frequency rank#2,459
Misspellings tracked12
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “recommend” 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). recommend 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 recommend is 9 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˌɹɛkəˈmɛnd/. Corpus data places it at rank #2,459 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 4 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for recommend, with forms such as "ercommend", "rceommend", and "reccommend". 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. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "recommended", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English recommenden, from Old French recommender (compare French recommander), from Latin re- + commendāre (“to commend, commit; to recommend”), from con- + mandāre (“commit, intrust, enjoin”), from manus (“hand, handwriting, power”) + dare (“to… The correct English form is recommend, spelled R-E-C-O-M-M-E-N-D.

Definition

  1. 1
    To bestow commendation on; to represent favourably; to suggest, endorse or encourage as an appropriate choice.
  2. 2
    To make acceptable; to attract favor to.
  3. 3
    To advise, propose, counsel favorably.
  4. 4
    To commit, confide to another's care, confidence or acceptance, with favoring representations

Etymology

From Middle English recommenden, from Old French recommender (compare French recommander), from Latin re- + commendāre (“to commend, commit; to recommend”), from con- + mandāre (“commit, intrust, enjoin”), from manus (“hand, handwriting, power”) + dare (“to give; to offer or render”). Compare typologically Bulgarian препоръчам (preporǎčam), Serbo-Croatian препоручити, Slovene priporočiti, Czech doporučit, Slovak odporučiť (the same meaning); Russian поручи́ться (poručítʹsja), пору́ка (porúka), поручи́тельство (poručítelʹstvo) (close meaning), all related to Proto-Slavic *rǫka (Bulgarian ръка (rǎka), Russian рука́ (ruká)).

Antonyms

deprecatedisrecommenddiscouragedisapproveoppose

This word in other languages

recomendar(Español)recommander(Français)empfehlen(Deutsch)recomendar(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: ercommend,rceommend,reccommend,recmomend,recomemnd,recomend,recommedn,recommendd,recommennd,recommned,reocmmend,rrecommend

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

ercommend2rceommend2reccommend1recmomend2recomemnd2recomend1recommedn2recommendd1
Edit distance from "recommend"

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 "recommend"?
"recommend" is spelled R-E-C-O-M-M-E-N-D. The IPA pronunciation is /ˌɹɛkəˈmɛnd/.
What does "recommend" mean?
As a verb, "recommend" means: To bestow commendation on; to represent favourably; to suggest, endorse or encourage as an appropriate choice.
What words are commonly confused with "recommend"?
"recommend" is commonly confused with "recommended". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "recommend"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "recommend" is /ˌɹɛkəˈmɛnd/. 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 "recommend"?
From Middle English recommenden, from Old French recommender (compare French recommander), from Latin re- + commendāre (“to commend, commit; to recommend”), from con- + mandāre (“commit, intrust, enjoin”), from manus (“hand, handwriting, power”) +... 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 “recommend”

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

  • The one correct English spelling is R-E-C-O-M-M-E-N-D - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /ˌɹɛkəˈmɛnd/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “recommended” - see the side-by-side comparison. recommend vs recommended
  • 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