tourist

Name: tourist, English Word Data
Creator: Wiktionary
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

/ˈtʊəɹɪst/

//ˈtʊəɹɪst// noun

By PlainSpell Editorial Team · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) · analyzed May 6, 2026

The verdict

“tourist” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #5,169 in English word frequency and used as a noun.

#5,169
frequency rank, English: 7
letters: 10
tracked misspellings: 4
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Someone who travels for pleasure rather than for business.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

tourist vs Tours

57% similar

tourist vs touristy

88% similar

tourist vs tourism

86% similar

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

Key facts for tourist
Property	Value
Headword	tourist
Language	English
Part of speech	Noun
IPA	/ˈtʊəɹɪst/
Letters	7
Frequency rank	#5,169
Misspellings tracked	10
Confusable pairs	4
Source	Wiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “tourist” 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). tourist lands here:

#5,169

#1#100#1K#10K#100K

← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for tourist is 7 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈtʊəɹɪst/. Corpus data places it at rank #5,169 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 5 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for tourist, with forms such as "oturist", "toruist", and "touirst". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 4 confusable-pair relationships, "Tours", "touristy", "tourism", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *terh₁-der. Ancient Greek τόρνος (tórnos)bor. Latin tornus Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂yéti Proto-Italic *-āō Latin -ō Latin tornō Old French torne… The correct English form is tourist, spelled T-O-U-R-I-S-T.

Definition

1
Someone who travels for pleasure rather than for business.
2
One who only has a superficial interest in something.
3
An unwelcome newcomer, or appropriator, especially one who is inflammatory or uninformed, usually to seek attention, moral approval and superiority over the established hobbyists.
4
A member of the visiting team in a match.
5
A guest user on a computer system.

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *terh₁-der. Ancient Greek τόρνος (tórnos)bor. Latin tornus Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂yéti Proto-Italic *-āō Latin -ō Latin tornō Old French torner Old French tourder. English tour Proto-Indo-European *-id- Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-idyéti Proto-Hellenic *-íďďō Ancient Greek -ίζω (-ízō) Proto-Hellenic *-tās Ancient Greek -τής (-tḗs) Ancient Greek -ιστής (-istḗs)der. Latin -istader. Old French -istebor. Middle English -ist English -ist English tourist From tour + -ist. Doublet of turista.

This word in other languages

turista(Español)touriste(Français)Tourist(Deutsch)turista(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: oturist,toruist,touirst,tourisst,touristt,tourits,tourrist,toursit,ttourist,tuorist

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of tourist - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

Edit distance from "tourist"

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 "tourist"?

"tourist" is spelled T-O-U-R-I-S-T. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈtʊəɹɪst/.

What does "tourist" mean?

As a noun, "tourist" means: Someone who travels for pleasure rather than for business.

What words are commonly confused with "tourist"?

"tourist" is commonly confused with "Tours", "touristy", "tourism". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.

How do you pronounce "tourist"?

The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "tourist" is /ˈtʊəɹɪst/. 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 "tourist"?

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.

Using “tourist”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

The one correct English spelling is T-O-U-R-I-S-T - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
Say it as /ˈtʊəɹɪst/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
Don't mix it up with “Tours” - see the side-by-side comparison. tourist vs Tours
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.