traitor
/ˈtɹeɪtə(ɹ)/
"traitor" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“traitor” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #11,485 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #11,485
- frequency rank, English
- 7
- letters
- 10
- tracked misspellings
- 8
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Someone who violates an allegiance and betrays their country; someone guilty of treason; one who, in breach of trust, delivers their country to an enemy, or yields up any fort or place entrusted to...
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 | traitor |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈtɹeɪtə(ɹ)/ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Frequency rank | #11,485 |
| Misspellings tracked | 10 |
| Confusable pairs | 8 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “traitor” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for traitor is 7 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈtɹeɪtə(ɹ)/. Corpus data places it at rank #11,485 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 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for traitor, with forms such as "rtaitor", "taritor", and "traiotr". 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 8 confusable-pair relationships, "traits", "triton", "trait", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English traitor, traitour, traytour, from Old French traïtor (French traître), from Latin trāditor. Displaced native Middle English swike from Old English swica (“traitor”), and Middle English proditour and traditour borrowed directly from Latin… The correct English form is traitor, spelled T-R-A-I-T-O-R.
Definition
- 1Someone who violates an allegiance and betrays their country; someone guilty of treason; one who, in breach of trust, delivers their country to an enemy, or yields up any fort or place entrusted to their defense, or surrenders an army or body of troops to the enemy, unless when vanquished.
- 2Someone who takes arms and levies war against their country; or one who aids an enemy in conquering their country.
- 3One who betrays any confidence or trust.
Etymology
From Middle English traitor, traitour, traytour, from Old French traïtor (French traître), from Latin trāditor. Displaced native Middle English swike from Old English swica (“traitor”), and Middle English proditour and traditour borrowed directly from Latin. The general Old English word denoting "traitor" was lǣwa or lǣwend. Doublet of traditor.
Synonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: rtaitor,taritor,traiotr,traitorr,traitro,traittor,tratior,triator,trraitor,ttraitor
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of traitor - 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
How do you spell "traitor"?
What does "traitor" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "traitor"?
How do you pronounce "traitor"?
What is the origin of the word "traitor"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “traitor”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is T-R-A-I-T-O-R - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈtɹeɪtə(ɹ)/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “traits” - see the side-by-side comparison. traitor vs traits
- 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.