undertaker

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

/ˈʌndə(ɹ)ˌteɪkə(ɹ)/

//ˈʌndə(ɹ)ˌteɪkə(ɹ)// noun

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

The verdict

“undertaker” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #23,143 in English word frequency and used as a noun.

#23,143
frequency rank, English: 10
letters: 15
tracked misspellings: 3
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A funeral director; someone whose business is to manage funerals, burials and cremations.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

undertaker vs underwater

80% similar

undertaker vs undertake

90% similar

undertaker vs undertaken

90% similar

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

Key facts for undertaker
Property	Value
Headword	undertaker
Language	English
Part of speech	Noun
IPA	/ˈʌndə(ɹ)ˌteɪkə(ɹ)/
Letters	10
Frequency rank	#23,143
Misspellings tracked	15
Confusable pairs	3
Source	Wiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “undertaker” 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). undertaker lands here:

#23,143

#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 undertaker is 10 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈʌndə(ɹ)ˌteɪkə(ɹ)/. Corpus data places it at rank #23,143 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 4 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 15 likely wrong-spelling variants for undertaker, with forms such as "nudertaker", "udnertaker", and "unddertaker". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 3 confusable-pair relationships, "underwater", "undertake", "undertaken", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From undertake (verb) + -er. The correct English form is undertaker, spelled U-N-D-E-R-T-A-K-E-R.

Definition

1
A funeral director; someone whose business is to manage funerals, burials and cremations.
2
A person receiving land in Ireland during the Elizabethan era, so named because they gave an undertaking to abide by several conditions regarding marriage, to be loyal to the crown, and to use English as their spoken language.
3
A contractor for the royal revenue in England, one of those who undertook to manage the House of Commons for the king in the Addled Parliament of 1614.
4
One who undertakes or commits to doing something.

Etymology

From undertake (verb) + -er.

This word in other languages

croque-mort(Français)Bestatter(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: nudertaker,udnertaker,unddertaker,underatker,underrtaker,undertaekr,undertakerr,undertakker,undertakre,undertkaer,underttaker,undetraker,undretaker,unedrtaker,unndertaker

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of undertaker - 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.

Edit distance from "undertaker"

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 "undertaker"?

"undertaker" is spelled U-N-D-E-R-T-A-K-E-R. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈʌndə(ɹ)ˌteɪkə(ɹ)/.

What does "undertaker" mean?

As a noun, "undertaker" means: A funeral director; someone whose business is to manage funerals, burials and cremations.

What words are commonly confused with "undertaker"?

"undertaker" is commonly confused with "underwater", "undertake", "undertaken". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.

How do you pronounce "undertaker"?

The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "undertaker" is /ˈʌndə(ɹ)ˌteɪkə(ɹ)/. 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 "undertaker"?

From undertake (verb) + -er. 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.

Using “undertaker”

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

The one correct English spelling is U-N-D-E-R-T-A-K-E-R - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
Say it as /ˈʌndə(ɹ)ˌteɪkə(ɹ)/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
Don't mix it up with “underwater” - see the side-by-side comparison. undertaker vs underwater
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.