territory
/ˈtɛɹɪˌtɔɹi/
"territory" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“territory” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #2,505 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #2,505
- frequency rank, English
- 9
- letters
- 12
- tracked misspellings
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A large extent or tract of land; for example a region, country or district.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | territory |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈtɛɹɪˌtɔɹi/ |
| Letters | 9 |
| Frequency rank | #2,505 |
| Misspellings tracked | 12 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “territory” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for territory is 9 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈtɛɹɪˌtɔɹi/. Corpus data places it at rank #2,505 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 10 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for territory, with forms such as "etrritory", "terirtory", and "teritory". 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. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.
Etymologically, the entry records: Inherited from Middle English territorie, from Latin territōrium. The correct English form is territory, spelled T-E-R-R-I-T-O-R-Y.
Definition
- 1A large extent or tract of land; for example a region, country or district.
- 2One of three of Canada's federal entities, located in the country's Arctic, with fewer powers than a province and created by an act of Parliament rather than by the Constitution: Yukon, Northwest Territories, and Nunavut.
- 3One of three of Australia's federal entities, located in the country's north and southeast, with fewer powers than a state and created by an act of Parliament rather than by the Constitution: Northern Territory, Australian Capital Territory and Jervis Bay Territory.
- 4A geographic area under control of a single governing entity such as state or municipality; an area whose borders are determined by the scope of political power rather than solely by natural features such as rivers and ridges.
- 5An area that an animal of a particular species consistently defends against its conspecifics.
- 6The part of the playing field or board over which a player or team has control.
- 7A geographic area that a person or organization is responsible for in the course of work.
- 8A location or logical space which someone owns or controls.
- 9A market segment or scope of professional practice over which an organization or type of practitioner has exclusive rights.
- 10An area of subject matter, knowledge, or experience.
Etymology
Inherited from Middle English territorie, from Latin territōrium.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: etrritory,terirtory,teritory,terriotry,territorry,territoryy,territoyr,territroy,territtory,terrtiory,treritory,tterritory
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of territory - 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
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Using “territory”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is T-E-R-R-I-T-O-R-Y - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈtɛɹɪˌtɔɹi/ (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.