alliteration

/əˌlɪtəˈɹeɪʃən/

//əˌlɪtəˈɹeɪʃən// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"alliteration" is a 12-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“alliteration” is uncommon English (frequency #50,348 among 35,202 “A” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#50,348
frequency rank, English
35,202
“A” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The repetition of consonant sounds or letters at the beginning of two or more words immediately succeeding each other, or at short intervals; such repetition specifically involving stressed syllables.

Key facts for alliteration
PropertyValue
Headwordalliteration
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/əˌlɪtəˈɹeɪʃən/
Letters12
Frequency rank#50,348
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “alliteration” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). alliteration lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

alliteration is uncommon English at frequency #50,348 among 35,202 “A” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /əˌlɪtəˈɹeɪʃən/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for alliteration, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From New Latin allīterātiō, from allīterātus, from allīterō, from Latin ad (“to, towards, near”) and lītera (“a letter”). The correct English form is alliteration, spelled A-L-L-I-T-E-R-A-T-I-O-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    The repetition of consonant sounds or letters at the beginning of two or more words immediately succeeding each other, or at short intervals; such repetition specifically involving stressed syllables.
  2. 2
    The recurrence of the same letters or sounds in accented parts of words, as in Anglo-Saxon alliterative meter.

Etymology

From New Latin allīterātiō, from allīterātus, from allīterō, from Latin ad (“to, towards, near”) and lītera (“a letter”).

This word in other languages

aliteración(Español)allitération(Français)Alliteration(Deutsch)aliteração(Português)

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

How do you spell "alliteration"?
"alliteration" is spelled A-L-L-I-T-E-R-A-T-I-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is /əˌlɪtəˈɹeɪʃən/.
What does "alliteration" mean?
As a noun, "alliteration" means: The repetition of consonant sounds or letters at the beginning of two or more words immediately succeeding each other, or at short intervals; such repetition specifically involving stressed syllables.
How do you pronounce "alliteration"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "alliteration" is /əˌlɪtəˈɹeɪʃən/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "alliteration"?
From New Latin allīterātiō, from allīterātus, from allīterō, from Latin ad (“to, towards, near”) and lītera (“a letter”). See the full etymology section above for more details.
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 “alliteration”

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

  • The one correct English spelling is A-L-L-I-T-E-R-A-T-I-O-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /əˌlɪtəˈɹeɪʃən/ (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

Other uncommon English words near this rank

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