satellite

/ˈsætəlaɪt/

//ˈsætəlaɪt// noun

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

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

The verdict

“satellite” has 11 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #4,120. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#4,120
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
11
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A moon or other smaller body orbiting a larger one.

Corpus desk

Index EN-satellite · satellite · English

satellite · rank #4,120 · 11 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #4,120
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-MID 11 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH Russell

Nearest frequency peer: Russell (-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 “satellite”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “satellite” 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
Key facts for satellite
PropertyValue
Headwordsatellite
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈsætəlaɪt/
Letters9
Frequency rank#4,120
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “satellite”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).satellitelands 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 “Russell” (#4,119), “shake” (#4,121), “robin” (#4,118). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “satellite” is #4,120. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 11 spelling variants around satellite (IPA /ˈsætəlaɪt/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #4,120 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 8 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for satellite, with forms such as "astellite", "saetllite", and "satelilte". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle French satellite, from Latin satelles (“attendant”). Ultimately perhaps of Etruscan origin. The correct English form is satellite, spelled S-A-T-E-L-L-I-T-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A moon or other smaller body orbiting a larger one.
  2. 2
    A man-made apparatus designed to be placed in orbit around a celestial body, generally to relay information, data etc. to Earth.
  3. 3
    A country, state, office, building etc. which is under the jurisdiction, influence, or domination of another body.
  4. 4
    An attendant on an important person; a member of someone's retinue, often in a somewhat derogatory sense; a henchman.
  5. 5
    Satellite TV; reception of television broadcasts via services that use man-made satellite technology.
  6. 6
    A grammatical construct that takes various forms and may encode a path of movement, a change of state, or the grammatical aspect. Examples: "a bird flew past"; "she turned on the light".
  7. 7
    A very large array of tandemly repeating, non-coding DNA.
  8. 8
    A community or town dependent on a larger town or city nearby.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. The Moon is a natural satellite of the Earth.
  2. A spent upper stage is a derelict satellite.

Etymology

From Middle French satellite, from Latin satelles (“attendant”). Ultimately perhaps of Etruscan origin.

Synonyms

sat

This word in other languages

satélite(Español)satellite(Français)Begleiter(Deutsch)satélite(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • astellite
  • saetllite
  • satelilte
  • satelite
  • satelliet
  • satellitte
  • satelltie
  • satlelite
  • sattellite
  • ssatellite
  • staellite

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

astellite2saetllite2satelilte2satelite1satelliet2satellitte1satelltie2satlelite2
Edit distance from "satellite"

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 "satellite"?
"satellite" is spelled S-A-T-E-L-L-I-T-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈsætəlaɪt/.
What does "satellite" mean?
As a noun, "satellite" means: A moon or other smaller body orbiting a larger one.
What are common misspellings of "satellite"?
Common misspellings include "astellite", "saetllite", "satelilte", "satelite", "satelliet". The correct spelling is "satellite".
How do you pronounce "satellite"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "satellite" is /ˈsætəlaɪt/. 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 "satellite"?
From Middle French satellite, from Latin satelles (“attendant”). Ultimately perhaps of Etruscan origin. 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 "satellite", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

requested#4,114prominent#4,110preparing#4,107pregnancy#4,105

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (11 here; floor ≥5).

pretend11 variantsaggressive11 variantsprecious11 variantsgreatly11 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list