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How to Spell Accommodate (Common Mistakes)

  • 5 min read

The correct spelling is accommodate. The whole challenge is the double “c” plus the double “m”, all sitting in the middle of one very common word.

The Correct Spelling in One Line

✅ Correct

accommodate

❌ Wrong

accomodate acommodate accommadate

  • Word Verb
  • Core Idea Make room / Adapt
  • Spelling Hook cc + mm

Correct Spelling and Letter Pattern

Accommodate is spelled with two “c” letters and two “m” letters. Thatcc + mm” core is standard in style guides and editorial word lists.✅Source

Spelling
accommodate
What People Usually Drop
One of the middle letters: a missing “c” or a missing “m”.
Why It Feels “Too Long”
English has lots of words with single consonants in the middle, so double clusters can look “extra” at first glance.

Letter Breakdown Without Guesswork

Visually, accommodate tends to read in chunks: ac + commod + ate. The spelling pain point sits inside commod, where the “cc” is already in place and the “mm” follows soon after.

What Stays the Same Every Time

  • Starts with “ac”, not “ad” or anything else.
  • Middle has “cc” then “mm”, not single letters.
  • Ends with “date”, which is why the ending often feels familiar.

What Shifts in Misspellings

  1. One “m” disappears and the word looks shorter.
  2. One “c” disappears and the middle feels “cleaner.”
  3. The vowel sequence gets nudged and you see “a” where an “o” belongs.

Why This Word Gets Misspelled

Accommodate is a classic spelling trap because the spoken rhythm doesn’t “announce” the double consonants very loudly. That mismatch between sound and letters is exactly why it shows up on university “frequently misspelled” lists.✅Source

Meaning stays clear even when spelling slips. People generally know what accommodate means; the misspelling is usually a letter-count problem, not a vocabulary problem.

The “Looks Like It Should Be Shorter” Effect

Many English words have one consonant in the middle, so accommodate can feel “overbuilt” at a glance. The eye expects fewer repeats, but the real form keeps the “cc” and “mm” together in the center.

Common Wrong Spellings and What They Break

These misspellings usually break the same thing: the double “c”, the double “m”, or the vowel pattern around them. Merriam-Webster lists several of these as common misspellings, which matches what shows up in everyday writing.✅Source

Common Variants You’ll See (and the Correct Form)
Form Status What’s Off Fast Visual Tell
accommodate Correct Keeps cc and mm in the middle. Two doubles: cc + mm
accomodate Wrong Usually drops one m. Only one m shows up
acommodate Wrong Usually drops one c. Only one c near the start
accommadate Wrong Typically shifts the middle vowel away from “o”. Looks like “…mad…” in the center

A note on vowels: the correct spelling contains two “o” letters (one before the mm and one after). That’s another reason the word can feel “busy” on the page, even when the meaning is simple.

A Widely Shared Memory Line

One well-known memory line treats the ending as “date” and keeps the middle “soft” with two “o” letters, while still preserving two “c” letters and two “m” letters. It’s not about rules; it’s about noticing the shape of accommodate in writing.

Related Forms and Word Family

The spelling of accommodate becomes easier to trust when you look at its close relatives. The verb forms and related words keep the same cc + mm core, even as endings change.✅Source

  • accommodated (past tense): same double “c” and double “m”, just a different ending.
  • accommodating (present participle): keeps the full center cluster and adds -ing.
  • accommodation (noun): the same core spelling shows up in a longer form, which is why both words often get misspelled in similar ways.

Meaning Snapshots in Real Usage

  • Make room for: a space can accommodate people or objects.
  • Provide what’s needed: a plan can accommodate different needs.
  • Adapt: people can accommodate to new conditions over time.

Double-Letter Logic and Where Confusion Comes From

English has a well-known “double the consonant” spelling rule tied to adding endings like -ed or -ing in certain short words, which can train the eye to expect doubling only in those situations. That rule is described in education materials as doubling the final consonant when a vowel is followed by a consonant in a one-syllable word before adding -ed or -ing.✅Source

Accommodate is different because the double letters are built into the base word. It’s not a suffix-driven doubling moment; it’s simply the standard spelling that stays put across forms like accommodated and accommodation.

FAQ

Common Questions About Accommodate

Is accomodate ever correct?

No. The standard spelling is accommodate, with two “c” letters and two “m” letters.

Does accommodation keep the same double letters?

Yes. Accommodation keeps the same cc + mm core, so spelling slips often look similar across both words.

Is there a U.S. vs U.K. spelling difference for this word?

No spelling split here. Accommodate stays accommodate in both varieties, including the double “c” and double “m”.

How many “o” letters are in accommodate?

Two. Accommodate contains two “o” letters, one before the mm and one after it.

What’s the simplest way to describe the spelling pattern?

It’s the “cc + mm” middle. If both doubles are present, the rest of accommodate usually falls into place.