ultimate
/ˈʌltɪmət/
"ultimate" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“ultimate” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #2,869 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.
- #2,869
- frequency rank, English
- 8
- letters
- 11
- tracked misspellings
- 3
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Final; last in a series.
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 | ultimate |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ˈʌltɪmət/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #2,869 |
| Misspellings tracked | 11 |
| Confusable pairs | 3 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “ultimate” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for ultimate is 8 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈʌltɪmət/. Corpus data places it at rank #2,869 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 7 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for ultimate, with forms such as "lutimate", "ulitmate", and "ulltimate". 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 3 confusable-pair relationships, "ultimatum", "ultimately", "ultima", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: * From Medieval Latin ultimātus (“furthest, last”), perfect passive participle of ultimō (“to come to an end”) (see -ate (1,2 and 3)), from ultimus (“last, final”) + -ō (verb-forming suffix). See ultra-. * (ultimate frisbee): The sport was renamed to avoid … The correct English form is ultimate, spelled U-L-T-I-M-A-T-E.
Definition
- 1Final; last in a series.
- 2Last in a word or other utterance.
- 3Being the greatest possible; maximum; most extreme.
- 4Being the most distant or extreme; farthest.
- 5That will happen at some time; eventual.
- 6Last in a train of progression or consequences; tended toward by all that precedes; arrived at, as the last result; final.
- 7Incapable of further analysis; incapable of further division or separation; constituent; elemental.
Etymology
* From Medieval Latin ultimātus (“furthest, last”), perfect passive participle of ultimō (“to come to an end”) (see -ate (1,2 and 3)), from ultimus (“last, final”) + -ō (verb-forming suffix). See ultra-. * (ultimate frisbee): The sport was renamed to avoid the use of the Frisbee trademark.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: lutimate,ulitmate,ulltimate,ultiamte,ultimaet,ultimatte,ultimmate,ultimtae,ultmiate,ulttimate,utlimate
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of ultimate - 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.
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 "ultimate"?
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Using “ultimate”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is U-L-T-I-M-A-T-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈʌltɪmət/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “ultimatum” - see the side-by-side comparison. ultimate vs ultimatum
- 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.