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register

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

Letters

8 characters

Language

English

word origin

Source

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Detailed reference entry for the English word "register", 8-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 "register" 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 "register" for academic writing, checking homophone confusion, or exploring etymological origins, this page provides a citation-backed, free reference that requires no sign-up.

register is aEnglishnoun. It means: A formal recording of names, events, transactions, etc. Pronounced /ˈɹɛd͡ʒ.ɪ.stə/. It ranks #2,553 in English word frequency. Often confused with registry and resisted.

Key facts for register
PropertyValue
Headwordregister
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈɹɛd͡ʒ.ɪ.stə/
Letters8
Frequency rank#2,553
Misspellings tracked12
Confusable pairs6
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency rank visualization

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

Source: Wordfreq corpus

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for register is 8 letters long, classified as anoun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈɹɛd͡ʒ.ɪ.stə/. Corpus data places it at rank #2,553 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text.Wiktionary records 18 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our Hunspell-derived misspelling index lists 12 documented wrong-spelling variants for register, with forms such as "ergister", "reggister", and "regisetr". 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 6 confusable-pair relationships, "registry", "resisted", "resistor", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Medieval Latin registrum, from Late Latin regesta (“list, items recorded”), from Latin regerō (“to record, to carry back”), from re- + gerō (“to carry, bear”). Compare Latin registoria (“a treasurer”). Some senses influenced by association with unrelat… 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 register, spelled R-E-G-I-S-T-E-R, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

Definition

  1. 1
    A formal recording of names, events, transactions, etc.
  2. 2
    A book of such entries.
  3. 3
    An entry in such a book.
  4. 4
    The act of registering.
  5. 5
    A certificate issued by the collector of customs of a port or district to the owner of a vessel, containing the description of a vessel, its name, ownership, and other material facts. It is kept on board the vessel, to be used as evidence of nationality or as a muniment of title.
  6. 6
    One who registers or records; a registrar; especially, a public officer charged with the duty of recording certain transactions or events.
  7. 7
    A distinct horizontal (or, more rarely, vertical) section of a work of art or inscription that is divided into several such sections.
  8. 8
    A device that automatically records a quantity.
  9. 9
    The part of a telegraphic apparatus that automatically records the message received.
  10. 10
    A list of received calls in a phone set.
  11. 11
    A small unit of very fast memory that is directly accessible to the central processing unit, and is mostly used to store inputs, outputs, or intermediate results of computations.
  12. 12
    The exact alignment of lines, margins, and colors.
  13. 13
    The inner part of the mould in which types are cast.
  14. 14
    The range of a voice or instrument.
  15. 15
    An organ stop.
  16. 16
    A style of a language used in a particular context.
  17. 17
    A grille at the outflow of a ventilation duct, capable of being opened and closed to direct the air flow.
  18. 18
    Ellipsis of cash register.

Etymology

From Medieval Latin registrum, from Late Latin regesta (“list, items recorded”), from Latin regerō (“to record, to carry back”), from re- + gerō (“to carry, bear”). Compare Latin registoria (“a treasurer”). Some senses influenced by association with unrelated Latin regō (“to rule”).

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: ergister,reggister,regisetr,regisster,registerr,registre,registter,regitser,regsiter,reigster,rgeister,rregister

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

Relative frequency of common misspelling types for register

Misspelling Variants of "register"

ergister8reggister9regisetr8regisster9registerr9registre8registter9regitser8
Misspelling Variants of "register"

Frequency rank: #2,553 in English

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "register"?
"register" is spelled R-E-G-I-S-T-E-R. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈɹɛd͡ʒ.ɪ.stə/.
What does "register" mean?
As a noun, "register" means: A formal recording of names, events, transactions, etc.
What words are commonly confused with "register"?
"register" is commonly confused with "registry", "resisted", "resistor". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "register"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "register" is /ˈɹɛd͡ʒ.ɪ.stə/. 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 "register"?
From Medieval Latin registrum, from Late Latin regesta (“list, items recorded”), from Latin regerō (“to record, to carry back”), from re- + gerō (“to carry, bear”). Compare Latin registoria (“a treasurer”). Some senses influenced by association wi... See the full etymology section above for more details.
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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:

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