rotate

/ɹəʊˈteɪt/

//ɹəʊˈteɪt// verb

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

"rotate" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“rotate” has 8 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #13,414. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#13,414
frequency rank, English
3,094
“R” headwords
8
tracked misspellings
12
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To spin, turn, or revolve.

Corpus desk

Index EN-rotate · rotate · English

rotate · rank #13,414 · 8 variants · 12 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #13,414
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 12 pairs
  • VAR-MID 8 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,094
  • PHOTO-FINISH roofs

Nearest frequency peer: roofs (-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 “rotate”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “rotate” 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).

rotate vs rote
67% similar
rotate vs route
67% similar
rotate vs rotten
67% similar

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

Key facts for rotate
PropertyValue
Headwordrotate
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/ɹəʊˈteɪt/
Letters6
Frequency rank#13,414
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs12
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “rotate”

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).rotatelands here:

#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. Same rarity band neighbours include “roofs” (#13,413), “Royce” (#13,415), “Romanian” (#13,412). Among 3,094 “R” headwords, “rotate” is #13,414. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 8 spelling variants around rotate (IPA /ɹəʊˈteɪt/), averb. Corpus frequency is #13,414 among 3,094 “R” headwords. Wiktionary lists 7 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for rotate, with forms such as "ortate", "roatte", and "rotaet". 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 12 confusable-pair relationships, "rote", "route", "rotten", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Latin rotātus, perfect passive participle of rotō (“revolve”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix) and -ate (adjective-forming suffix)), from rota (“wheel”) + -ō (verb-forming suffix). The correct English form is rotate, spelled R-O-T-A-T-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    To spin, turn, or revolve.
  2. 2
    To advance through a sequence; to take turns.
  3. 3
    To lift the nose during takeoff, just prior to liftoff.
  4. 4
    To spin, turn, or revolve something.
  5. 5
    To advance something through a sequence; to allocate or deploy in turns.
  6. 6
    To replace older materials or to place older materials in front of newer ones so that older ones get used first.
  7. 7
    To grow or plant (crops) in a certain order.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. He rotated in his chair to face me.
  2. The earth rotates.

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin rotātus, perfect passive participle of rotō (“revolve”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix) and -ate (adjective-forming suffix)), from rota (“wheel”) + -ō (verb-forming suffix).

Synonyms

revolvecircumvolve

This word in other languages

girar(Español)tourner(Français)rotieren(Deutsch)girar(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ortate
  • roatte
  • rotaet
  • rotatte
  • rottae
  • rottate
  • rrotate
  • rtoate

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

ortate2roatte2rotaet2rotatte1rottae2rottate1rrotate1rtoate2
Edit distance from "rotate"

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 "rotate"?
"rotate" is spelled R-O-T-A-T-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ɹəʊˈteɪt/.
What does "rotate" mean?
As a verb, "rotate" means: To spin, turn, or revolve.
What words are commonly confused with "rotate"?
"rotate" is commonly confused with "rote", "route", "rotten". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "rotate"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "rotate" is /ɹəʊˈteɪt/. 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 "rotate"?
Borrowed from Latin rotātus, perfect passive participle of rotō (“revolve”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix) and -ate (adjective-forming suffix)), from rota (“wheel”) + -ō (verb-forming suffix). 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 "rotate", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Peyton#13,396orphan#13,392optics#13,391mosaic#13,384

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (8 here; floor ≥5).

adhere8 variantslarvae8 variantsAdidas8 variantsblitz8 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list