timer
/ˈtaɪmɚ/
"timer" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“timer” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #11,625 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #11,625
- frequency rank, English
- 5
- letters
- 7
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Agent noun of time: someone or something that times.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | timer |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈtaɪmɚ/ |
| Letters | 5 |
| Frequency rank | #11,625 |
| Misspellings tracked | 7 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “timer” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for timer is 5 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈtaɪmɚ/. Corpus data places it at rank #11,625 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for timer, with forms such as "itmer", "tiemr", and "timerr". 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 20 confusable-pair relationships, "tire", "tome", "tine", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: From time (verb) + -er. The correct English form is timer, spelled T-I-M-E-R.
Definition
- 1Agent noun of time: someone or something that times.
- 2Agent noun of time: someone or something that times.
- 3Agent noun of time: someone or something that times.
Etymology
From time (verb) + -er.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: itmer,tiemr,timerr,timmer,timre,tmier,ttimer
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of timer - 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 “timer”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is T-I-M-E-R - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈtaɪmɚ/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “tire” - see the side-by-side comparison. timer vs tire
- 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.