tourist

/ˈtʊəɹɪst/

//ˈtʊəɹɪst// noun

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

"tourist" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“tourist” has 10 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #5,169. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#5,169
frequency rank, English
3,151
“T” headwords
10
tracked misspellings
4
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Someone who travels for pleasure rather than for business.

Corpus desk

Index EN-tourist · tourist · English

tourist · rank #5,169 · 10 variants · 4 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #5,169
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 4 pairs
  • VAR-MID 10 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,151
  • PHOTO-FINISH transit

Nearest frequency peer: transit (+1 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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “tourist”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “tourist” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

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).

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
PropertyValue
Headwordtourist
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈtʊəɹɪst/
Letters7
Frequency rank#5,169
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs4
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “tourist”

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

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “transit” (#5,170), “terrorists” (#5,167), “trucks” (#5,171). Among 3,151 “T” headwords, “tourist” is #5,169. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 10 spelling variants around tourist (IPA /ˈtʊəɹɪst/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #5,169 among 3,151 “T” headwords. Wiktionary lists 5 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

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. 1
    Someone who travels for pleasure rather than for business.
  2. 2
    One who only has a superficial interest in something.
  3. 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. 4
    A member of the visiting team in a match.
  5. 5
    A guest user on a computer system.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Sunning himself on the board steps, I saw for the first time Mr. Farquhar Fenelon Cooke. He was dressed out in broad gaiters and bright tweeds, like an English tourist, and his face might have belonged to Dagon, idol of the Philistines.
  2. The group operating where we were was called the "Abu Sayyaf" and specialised in K&R (kidnap and ransom), usually of tourists who would finish up beheaded on TV.

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.

oturist2toruist2touirst2tourisst1touristt1tourits2tourrist1toursit2
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"?
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 Fr... 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 "tourist", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

transit#5,170trusted#5,172stepped#5,165vessels#5,173

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (10 here; floor ≥5).

trucks10 variantsvolumes10 variantswireless10 variantswright10 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list