English Word Reference Free

recruit

Definition, pronunciation, etymology, and usage for the English word. Free spelling reference powered by Wiktionary.

Letters

7 characters

Language

English

word origin

Source

Wiktionary

open dictionary

Access

Free

no sign-up needed

Detailed reference entry for the English word "recruit", 7-letters, with pronunciation in International Phonetic Alphabet notation, etymology traced through Germanic and Romance roots where applicable, common misspelling variants catalogued from Hunspell error dictionaries, and usage frequency ranked against the top 100,000 English words in the Wordfreq corpus. PlainSpell covers English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German spelling with confusable-pair detection that highlights visually and phonetically similar words. This entry for "recruit" includes synonyms, antonyms, homophones, and cross-language translation pointers sourced from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org extract. Whether you are verifying the correct spelling of "recruit" for academic writing, checking homophone confusion, or exploring etymological origins, this page provides a citation-backed, free reference that requires no sign-up.

recruit is aEnglishnoun. It means: A supply of anything wasted or exhausted; a reinforcement. Pronounced /ɹɪˈkɹut/. It ranks #8,476 in English word frequency. Often confused with recruiter and recount.

Key facts for recruit
PropertyValue
Headwordrecruit
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ɹɪˈkɹut/
Letters7
Frequency rank#8,476
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs2
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency rank visualization

Position of recruit in English word frequency (lower rank = more common)

Source: Wordfreq corpus

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for recruit is 7 letters long, classified as anoun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ɹɪˈkɹut/. Corpus data places it at rank #8,476 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 Hunspell-derived misspelling index lists 10 documented wrong-spelling variants for recruit, with forms such as "ercruit", "rceruit", and "reccruit". Each variant represents a distinct typo pattern that appears often enough in corpora to be worth flagging, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution.It also participates in 2 confusable-pair relationships, "recruiter", "recount", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From French recruter (as a verb). Root origin matters for spelling because borrowed morphemes (Greek, Latin, Old French, Old English) carry their source-language orthographic conventions into modern English, which is why historical etymology is often the cleanest predictor of whether a cluster like "-ough", "-eau", or "-tion" will appear. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct English form is recruit, spelled R-E-C-R-U-I-T, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

Definition

  1. 1
    A supply of anything wasted or exhausted; a reinforcement.
  2. 2
    A person enlisted for service in the army; a newly enlisted soldier.
  3. 3
    A hired worker
  4. 4
    A new adult or breeding-age member of a certain population.

Etymology

From French recruter (as a verb).

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: ercruit,rceruit,reccruit,recriut,recrruit,recruitt,recruti,recurit,rercuit,rrecruit

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

Relative frequency of common misspelling types for recruit

Misspelling Variants of "recruit"

ercruit7rceruit7reccruit8recriut7recrruit8recruitt8recruti7recurit7
Misspelling Variants of "recruit"

Frequency rank: #8,476 in English

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "recruit"?
"recruit" is spelled R-E-C-R-U-I-T. The IPA pronunciation is /ɹɪˈkɹut/.
What does "recruit" mean?
As a noun, "recruit" means: A supply of anything wasted or exhausted; a reinforcement.
What words are commonly confused with "recruit"?
"recruit" is commonly confused with "recruiter", "recount". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "recruit"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "recruit" is /ɹɪˈkɹut/. 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 "recruit"?
From French recruter (as a verb). 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.

Nearby English words

Other entries that begin with the letter R in our English index:

Explore PlainSpell

Data Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Frequency data from Wordfreq. Misspellings derived from Hunspell dictionaries.