abutment
/əˈbʌt.mn̩t/
"abutment" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“abutment” is an uncommon English word, ranked #62,652 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #62,652
- frequency rank, English
- 8
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The point of junction between two things, in particular a support, that abuts.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | abutment |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /əˈbʌt.mn̩t/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #62,652 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “abutment” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for abutment is 8 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /əˈbʌt.mn̩t/. Corpus data places it at rank #62,652 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.
No generated misspelling entries exist for abutment in our index, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.
Etymologically, the entry records: First attested in 1644; engineering sense first attested in 1793. From Old French aboutement. Equivalent to abut + -ment. The correct English form is abutment, spelled A-B-U-T-M-E-N-T.
Definition
- 1The point of junction between two things, in particular a support, that abuts.
- 2The solid portion of a structure that supports the lateral pressure of an arch or vault.
- 3A construction that supports the ends of a bridge; a structure that anchors the cables on a suspension bridge.
- 4The part of a valley or canyon wall against which a dam is constructed.
- 5Something that abuts, or on which something abuts.
- 6The state of abutting.
- 7That element that shares a common boundary or surface with its neighbor.
- 8The tooth that supports a denture or bridge.
- 9A fixed point or surface where resistance is obtained.
Etymology
First attested in 1644; engineering sense first attested in 1793. From Old French aboutement. Equivalent to abut + -ment.
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); 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 “abutment”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is A-B-U-T-M-E-N-T - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /əˈbʌt.mn̩t/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- 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.