contre-maître

\kɔ̃.tʁə.mɛtʁ\

/\kɔ̃.tʁə.mɛtʁ\/ noun

The verdict

“contre-maître” is uncommon French (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency French
13
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Troisième officier de manœuvre à bord, qui est au-dessous du maître et du second maître d’équipage ; désormais second maître de deuxième classe.

Key facts for contre-maître
PropertyValue
Headwordcontre-maître
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\kɔ̃.tʁə.mɛtʁ\
Letters13
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “contre-maître” sits in French frequency

contre-maître falls outside the top-100,000 ranked French words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

contre-maître is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed \kɔ̃.tʁə.mɛtʁ\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for contre-maître, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, so its spelling is best read as a straightforward mapping from sound to letter. The correct French form is contre-maître, spelled C-O-N-T-R-E---M-A-Î-T-R-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Troisième officier de manœuvre à bord, qui est au-dessous du maître et du second maître d’équipage ; désormais second maître de deuxième classe.
  2. 2
    Celui qui dirige les ouvriers dans les grandes fabriques, dans un atelier, dans un chantier, etc.
  3. 3
    Famille de petits oiseaux du Paraguay, ressemblant aux fauvettes.

Synonyms

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "contre-maître"?
"contre-maître" is spelled C-O-N-T-R-E---M-A-Î-T-R-E. The IPA pronunciation is \kɔ̃.tʁə.mɛtʁ\.
What does "contre-maître" mean?
As a noun, "contre-maître" means: Troisième officier de manœuvre à bord, qui est au-dessous du maître et du second maître d’équipage ; désormais second maître de deuxième classe.
How do you pronounce "contre-maître"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "contre-maître" is \kɔ̃.tʁə.mɛtʁ\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "contre-maître" come from?
"contre-maître" is a French word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
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 “contre-maître”

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

  • The one correct French spelling is C-O-N-T-R-E---M-A-Î-T-R-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \kɔ̃.tʁə.mɛtʁ\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Browse more French words and confusable pairs in the same reference. French 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