urinate

/ˈjʊəɹɪneɪt/

//ˈjʊəɹɪneɪt// verb

"urinate" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“urinate” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #36,806 in English word frequency and used as a verb.

#36,806
frequency rank, English
7
letters
9
tracked misspellings
3
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - To pass urine from the body.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

urinate vs urine
71% similar
urinate vs urinal
71% similar
urinate vs urinary
71% similar

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

Key facts for urinate
PropertyValue
Headwordurinate
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/ˈjʊəɹɪneɪt/
Letters7
Frequency rank#36,806
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs3
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “urinate” 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). urinate lands here:

#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 urinate is 7 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈjʊəɹɪneɪt/. Corpus data places it at rank #36,806 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "To pass urine from the body.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for urinate, with forms such as "ruinate", "uirnate", and "uriante". 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, "urine", "urinal", "urinary", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Medieval Latin urinātus, perfect passive participle of urinō (“urinate”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), equivalent to urine + -ate. Compare French uriner. The correct English form is urinate, spelled U-R-I-N-A-T-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    To pass urine from the body.

Etymology

Borrowed from Medieval Latin urinātus, perfect passive participle of urinō (“urinate”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), equivalent to urine + -ate. Compare French uriner.

Synonyms

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: ruinate,uirnate,uriante,urinaet,urinatte,urinnate,urintae,urniate,urrinate

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

ruinate2uirnate2uriante2urinaet2urinatte1urinnate1urintae2urniate2
Edit distance from "urinate"

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 "urinate"?
"urinate" is spelled U-R-I-N-A-T-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈjʊəɹɪneɪt/.
What does "urinate" mean?
As a verb, "urinate" means: To pass urine from the body.
What words are commonly confused with "urinate"?
"urinate" is commonly confused with "urine", "urinal", "urinary". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "urinate"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "urinate" is /ˈjʊəɹɪneɪt/. 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 "urinate"?
Borrowed from Medieval Latin urinātus, perfect passive participle of urinō (“urinate”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), equivalent to urine + -ate. Compare French uriner. 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 “urinate”

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

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

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list