absorption
/əbˈzɔːp.ʃn̩/
"absorption" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“absorption” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #11,828 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #11,828
- frequency rank, English
- 10
- letters
- 16
- tracked misspellings
- 3
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The act or process of absorbing or of being absorbed as,
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | absorption |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /əbˈzɔːp.ʃn̩/ |
| Letters | 10 |
| Frequency rank | #11,828 |
| Misspellings tracked | 16 |
| Confusable pairs | 3 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “absorption” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for absorption is 10 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /əbˈzɔːp.ʃn̩/. Corpus data places it at rank #11,828 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 9 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 16 likely wrong-spelling variants for absorption, with forms such as "abbsorption", "abosrption", and "absoprtion". 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, "adsorption", "abortion", "absolution", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂epó Proto-Italic *ap Latin abder. Latin ab- Proto-Indo-European *srebʰ- Proto-Indo-European *-yeti Proto-Indo-European *-éyeti Proto-Indo-European *srobʰéyeti Proto-Italic *sorβeō Latin sorbeō Latin absorbeō Proto-Indo-… The correct English form is absorption, spelled A-B-S-O-R-P-T-I-O-N.
Definition
- 1The act or process of absorbing or of being absorbed as,
- 2The act or process of absorbing or of being absorbed as,
- 3The act or process of absorbing or of being absorbed as,
- 4The act or process of absorbing or of being absorbed as,
- 5The act or process of absorbing or of being absorbed as,
- 6The act or process of absorbing or of being absorbed as,
- 7Entire engrossment or occupation of the mind.
- 8Mental assimilation.
- 9The retaining of electrical energy for a short time after it has been introduced to the dielectric.
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂epó Proto-Italic *ap Latin abder. Latin ab- Proto-Indo-European *srebʰ- Proto-Indo-European *-yeti Proto-Indo-European *-éyeti Proto-Indo-European *srobʰéyeti Proto-Italic *sorβeō Latin sorbeō Latin absorbeō Proto-Indo-European *-tisder. Proto-Italic *-tjō Latin -tiō Latin absorptiōder. English absorption First attested in 1597. From Latin absorptiō (“a sucking in”), from absorbeō (“absorb”). Morphologically absorb + -tion.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: abbsorption,abosrption,absoprtion,absorpiton,absorpption,absorpsion,absorptino,absorptionn,absorptoin,absorpttion,absorrption,absortpion,absroption,abssorption,asborption,basorption
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of absorption - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.
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
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Using “absorption”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is A-B-S-O-R-P-T-I-O-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /əbˈzɔːp.ʃn̩/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “adsorption” - see the side-by-side comparison. absorption vs adsorption
- 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.