maître d’ouvrage

\mɛtʁ d‿u.vʁaʒ\

/\mɛtʁ d‿u.vʁaʒ\/ noun

The verdict

“maître d’ouvrage” is outside the top-ranked French vocabulary, used as a noun - the kind of word writers most often double-check.

Unranked
below top-frequency French
16
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Destinataire du travail, celui pour qui il est effectué, futur propriétaire de l’ouvrage terminé.

Key facts for maître d’ouvrage
PropertyValue
Headwordmaître d’ouvrage
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\mɛtʁ d‿u.vʁaʒ\
Letters16
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “maître d’ouvrage” sits in French frequency

maître d’ouvrage 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.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The French entry for maître d’ouvrage is 16 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \mɛtʁ d‿u.vʁaʒ\. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Zero misspellings are on record for maître d’ouvrage in our index, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

Our source data has no etymology on file for this entry, so any spelling logic here comes from how the word's sounds map to letters, not a documented origin story. The correct French form is maître d’ouvrage, spelled M-A-Î-T-R-E- -D-’-O-U-V-R-A-G-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Destinataire du travail, celui pour qui il est effectué, futur propriétaire de l’ouvrage terminé.
  2. 2
    Client pour le compte duquel un ouvrage est réalisé.

Antonyms

This word in other languages

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 "maître d’ouvrage"?
"maître d’ouvrage" is spelled M-A-Î-T-R-E- -D-’-O-U-V-R-A-G-E. The IPA pronunciation is \mɛtʁ d‿u.vʁaʒ\.
What does "maître d’ouvrage" mean?
As a noun, "maître d’ouvrage" means: Destinataire du travail, celui pour qui il est effectué, futur propriétaire de l’ouvrage terminé.
How do you pronounce "maître d’ouvrage"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "maître d’ouvrage" is \mɛtʁ d‿u.vʁaʒ\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "maître d’ouvrage" come from?
"maître d’ouvrage" 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 “maître d’ouvrage”

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

  • The one correct French spelling is M-A-Î-T-R-E- -D-’-O-U-V-R-A-G-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \mɛtʁ d‿u.vʁaʒ\ (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