arson
/ˈɑɹsən/noun, verb
arson is spelled A-R-S-O-N: 5 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 2.5 times per million words in written English, the 17,122nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, arson means “The crime of deliberately starting a fire with intent to cause damage” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of arson is arsons.
How many letters and syllables are in arson?
| Letters | 5: A-R-S-O-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 2.5 times per million words; the 17,122nd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with | |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is arson?
Arson appears 2.5 times per million words in written English, the 17,122nd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce arson?
- US /ˈɑɹsən/
- UK /ˈɑːsən/
Arson has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-arson.oga, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-arson.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with arson?
One word on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as arson from its last stressed vowel (/ɑɹsən/):
Spelled with the same letters in another order: sonar.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of arson
- arsons plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- arsoning participle, present
- arsoned participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does arson mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The crime of deliberately starting a fire with intent to cause damage.
carry out an arson attack
- 2
obsoleteA saddlebow.
verb
- 1
IndiaTo illegally set fire to; to burn down in a criminal manner.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Arson in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense crime of setting a fire:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | incendie criminel, incendie |
| German | Brandstiftung, Brandlegung |
| Portuguese | incêndio criminoso |
| Spanish | incendio provocado, incendio premeditado, delito de incendio, incendio intencional, crimen incendiario, incendio pirómano |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does arson come from?
From Anglo-Norman and Old French arson, from the verb ardoir, from Latin ardeō (“to burn”). Compare ardent.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).