undertaker

/ˈʌndə(ɹ)ˌteɪkə(ɹ)/

//ˈʌndə(ɹ)ˌteɪkə(ɹ)// noun

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

"undertaker" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“undertaker” has 15 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #23,143. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#23,143
frequency rank, English
1,433
“U” headwords
15
tracked misspellings
3
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A funeral director; someone whose business is to manage funerals, burials and cremations.

Corpus desk

Index EN-undertaker · undertaker · English

undertaker · rank #23,143 · 15 variants · 3 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #23,143
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 3 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 15 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,433
  • PHOTO-FINISH unbeatable

Nearest frequency peer: unbeatable (-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 “undertaker”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “undertaker” 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).

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
PropertyValue
Headwordundertaker
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈʌndə(ɹ)ˌteɪkə(ɹ)/
Letters10
Frequency rank#23,143
Misspellings tracked15
Confusable pairs3
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “undertaker”

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

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “unbeatable” (#23,142), “uniformed” (#23,144), “unattended” (#23,141). Among 1,433 “U” headwords, “undertaker” is #23,143. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 15 spelling variants around undertaker (IPA /ˈʌndə(ɹ)ˌteɪkə(ɹ)/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #23,143 among 1,433 “U” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

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. 1
    A funeral director; someone whose business is to manage funerals, burials and cremations.
  2. 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. 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. 4
    One who undertakes or commits to doing something.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. In 1588, Edmund Spenser became an undertaker in the first Elizabethan plantation, receiving the forfeited Irish estate of Kilcolman Castle.
  2. A company shall not be appointed to be a water undertaker unless it is a limited company or a statutory water company and shall not be appointed to be a sewerage undertaker unless it is a limited company.

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.

nudertaker2udnertaker2unddertaker1underatker2underrtaker1undertaekr2undertakerr1undertakker1
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.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "undertaker", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 10 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

unbeatable#23,142unattended#23,141throughput#23,131streamline#23,116

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (15 here; floor ≥5).

clergyman15 variantsreconciled15 variantsclutching15 variantscouncilman15 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list