tailor

/ˈteɪlɚ/

//ˈteɪlɚ// noun

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

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

The verdict

“tailor” has 8 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #12,873. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#12,873
frequency rank, English
3,151
“T” headwords
8
tracked misspellings
12
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A person who makes, repairs, or alters clothes professionally, especially suits and men's clothing.

Corpus desk

Index EN-tailor · tailor · English

tailor · rank #12,873 · 8 variants · 12 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #12,873
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 12 pairs
  • VAR-MID 8 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,151
  • PHOTO-FINISH symposium

Nearest frequency peer: symposium (-2 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.

Frequency neighbourhood for “tailor”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “tailor” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

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).

tailor vs tails
67% similar
tailor vs Timor
50% similar
tailor vs talon
67% similar

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

Key facts for tailor
PropertyValue
Headwordtailor
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈteɪlɚ/
Letters6
Frequency rank#12,873
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs12
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “tailor” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).tailorlands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “symposium” (#12,871), “thrilling” (#12,875), “SUV” (#12,870). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 8 spelling variants around tailor (IPA /ˈteɪlɚ/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #12,873 among 3,151 “T” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for tailor, with forms such as "atilor", "taillor", and "tailorr". 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. It also participates in 12 confusable-pair relationships, "tails", "Timor", "talon", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: Inherited from Middle English taillour, from Anglo-Norman taillour, from Old French tailleor, from taillier, from Late Latin tāliō, from Latin tālea (“a cutting”). Doublet of tailleur. Compare typologically German Schneider (akin to English snithe); Macedon… The correct English form is tailor, spelled T-A-I-L-O-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    A person who makes, repairs, or alters clothes professionally, especially suits and men's clothing.
  2. 2
    Bluefish (Pomatomus saltatrix).

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. He works as a tailor on Swanston Street.
  2. The tailor — is that a sea fish — a line fish? It is a sea fish, but not a line fish. They will bite at a line, but they are not a fish you can depend on with the line.

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English taillour, from Anglo-Norman taillour, from Old French tailleor, from taillier, from Late Latin tāliō, from Latin tālea (“a cutting”). Doublet of tailleur. Compare typologically German Schneider (akin to English snithe); Macedonian кројач (krojač), Polish krawiec (akin to Proto-Slavic *krojiti).

This word in other languages

sastre(Español)tailleur(Français)Schneider(Deutsch)alfaiate(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • atilor
  • taillor
  • tailorr
  • tailro
  • taiolr
  • talior
  • tialor
  • ttailor

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

atilor2taillor1tailorr1tailro2taiolr2talior2tialor2ttailor1
Edit distance from "tailor"

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 "tailor"?
"tailor" is spelled T-A-I-L-O-R. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈteɪlɚ/.
What does "tailor" mean?
As a noun, "tailor" means: A person who makes, repairs, or alters clothes professionally, especially suits and men's clothing.
What words are commonly confused with "tailor"?
"tailor" is commonly confused with "tails", "Timor", "talon". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "tailor"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "tailor" is /ˈteɪlɚ/. 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 "tailor"?
Inherited from Middle English taillour, from Anglo-Norman taillour, from Old French tailleor, from taillier, from Late Latin tāliō, from Latin tālea (“a cutting”). Doublet of tailleur. Compare typologically German Schneider (akin to English snithe... 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 "tailor", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

storey#12,868unrest#12,883Snyder#12,862unseen#12,884

Similar misspelling depth

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

stint8 variantsslips8 variantswaiter8 variantsrusty8 variants

What to do next

You've looked up "tailor". Here's where to go from here.

  • "tailor" maps to 12 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "tails". View pair
  • 8 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
  • Usage frequency rank #12,873 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more English words in the "T" letter cohort. T–Z browse
  • PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list