superintendent
/ˌsjuːpəɹɪnˈtɛndənt/
"superintendent" is a 14-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“superintendent” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #7,505 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #7,505
- frequency rank, English
- 14
- letters
- 22
- tracked misspellings
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A person who is authorized to supervise, direct or administer something.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | superintendent |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˌsjuːpəɹɪnˈtɛndənt/ |
| Letters | 14 |
| Frequency rank | #7,505 |
| Misspellings tracked | 22 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “superintendent” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for superintendent is 14 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˌsjuːpəɹɪnˈtɛndənt/. Corpus data places it at rank #7,505 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 6 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 22 likely wrong-spelling variants for superintendent, with forms such as "spuerintendent", "ssuperintendent", and "sueprintendent". 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. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Ecclesiastical Latin superintendens, a calque of Ancient Greek ἐπίσκοπος (epískopos); thence being distantly related to English bishop. The correct English form is superintendent, spelled S-U-P-E-R-I-N-T-E-N-D-E-N-T.
Definition
- 1A person who is authorized to supervise, direct or administer something.
- 2A police officer rank, positioned above chief inspector, and below chief superintendent.
- 3The manager of a building, usually a communal residence, who is responsible for keeping the facilities functional and often collecting rent or similar payments, either as also the building's landlord or on behalf of same.
- 4The head of a Sunday school.
- 5In some Protestant churches, a clergyman having the oversight of the clergy of a district.
- 6A janitor.
Etymology
From Ecclesiastical Latin superintendens, a calque of Ancient Greek ἐπίσκοπος (epískopos); thence being distantly related to English bishop.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: spuerintendent,ssuperintendent,sueprintendent,supeirntendent,superinetndent,superinntendent,superintednent,superintenddent,superintendennt,superintendentt,superintendetn,superintendnet,superintenednt,superintenndent,superintnedent,superinttendent,superitnendent,supernitendent,superrintendent,supperintendent,supreintendent,usperintendent
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of superintendent - 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.
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 "superintendent"?
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Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “superintendent”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is S-U-P-E-R-I-N-T-E-N-D-E-N-T - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˌsjuːpəɹɪnˈtɛndənt/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- 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.