ultra
/ˈʌltɹə/
"ultra" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“ultra” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #4,906 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.
- #4,906
- frequency rank, English
- 5
- letters
- 7
- tracked misspellings
- 2
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Extreme; far beyond the norm; fanatical; uncompromising.
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 | ultra |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ˈʌltɹə/ |
| Letters | 5 |
| Frequency rank | #4,906 |
| Misspellings tracked | 7 |
| Confusable pairs | 2 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “ultra” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for ultra is 5 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈʌltɹə/. Corpus data places it at rank #4,906 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "Extreme; far beyond the norm; fanatical; uncompromising.".
Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for ultra, with forms such as "lutra", "ulltra", and "ulrta". 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 2 confusable-pair relationships, "uta", "ultima", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂el- Latin ūls Proto-Indo-European *-teros? Latin -ter Old Latin -ād Latin -ā Latin ultrābor. English ultra From Latin ultra. The correct English form is ultra, spelled U-L-T-R-A.
Definition
- 1Extreme; far beyond the norm; fanatical; uncompromising.
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂el- Latin ūls Proto-Indo-European *-teros? Latin -ter Old Latin -ād Latin -ā Latin ultrābor. English ultra From Latin ultra.
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: lutra,ulltra,ulrta,ultar,ultrra,ulttra,utlra
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of ultra - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
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 “ultra”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is U-L-T-R-A - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈʌltɹə/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “uta” - see the side-by-side comparison. ultra vs uta
- 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.