Babylon

/ˈbæb.ɪ.lɒn/

//ˈbæb.ɪ.lɒn// name

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

"babylon" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“Babylon” has 11 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #14,071. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#14,071
frequency rank, English
4,121
“B” headwords
11
tracked misspellings
2
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - An ancient city, the ancient capital of Babylonia in modern Iraq, built on the banks of the Euphrates.

Corpus desk

Index EN-babylon · Babylon · English

Babylon · rank #14,071 · 11 variants · 2 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #14,071
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 2 pairs
  • VAR-MID 11 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,121
  • PHOTO-FINISH avoidance

Nearest frequency peer: avoidance (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “Babylon”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “Babylon” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

Babylon vs ballon
57% similar
Babylon vs baboon
57% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for Babylon
PropertyValue
HeadwordBabylon
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechProper noun
IPA/ˈbæb.ɪ.lɒn/
Letters7
Frequency rank#14,071
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs2
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “Babylon”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).Babylonlands here:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “avoidance” (#14,070), “Barney” (#14,072), “asbestos” (#14,068). Among 4,121 “B” headwords, “Babylon” is #14,071. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 11 spelling variants around Babylon (IPA /ˈbæb.ɪ.lɒn/), aproper noun. Corpus frequency is #14,071 among 4,121 “B” headwords. Wiktionary lists 8 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for Babylon, with forms such as "abbylon", "babbylon", and "bablyon". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 2 confusable-pair relationships, "ballon", "baboon", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: Partially inherited from Old English Babilōn/Babȳlōn, partially from Latin Babylōn, from Ancient Greek Βαβυλών (Babulṓn), from Akkadian 𒆍𒀭𒊏𒆠 (Bābilim, literally “Gate of God”); the name of the ancient Chaldean capital and Biblical city of the Apocalypse… The correct English form is Babylon, spelled B-A-B-Y-L-O-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    An ancient city, the ancient capital of Babylonia in modern Iraq, built on the banks of the Euphrates.
  2. 2
    A governate in Iraq.
  3. 3
    Any city of great wealth, luxury and vice.
  4. 4
    Western civilization, seen as corrupt and materialistic, and contrasted with Zion.
  5. 5
    The police.
  6. 6
    An unincorporated community in Fulton County, Illinois, United States.
  7. 7
    A town and village therein, in Suffolk County, Long Island, New York, United States.
  8. 8
    A surname.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how Babylon appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Standing afarre off for the feare of her torment, saying, Alas, alas, that great citie Babylon, that mighty citie: for in one houre is thy iudgement come.
  2. Mother[…]considered that the exclusiveness of Peter's circle was due not to its distinction, but to the fact that it was an inner Babylon of prodigality and whoredom, from which every Kensingtonian held aloof, except on the conventional tip-and-run excursions in pursuit of shopping, tea and theatres.

Etymology

Partially inherited from Old English Babilōn/Babȳlōn, partially from Latin Babylōn, from Ancient Greek Βαβυλών (Babulṓn), from Akkadian 𒆍𒀭𒊏𒆠 (Bābilim, literally “Gate of God”); the name of the ancient Chaldean capital and Biblical city of the Apocalypse. Doublet of Babel.

Synonyms

police

This word in other languages

Babilonia(Español)Babylone(Français)Babylon(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • abbylon
  • babbylon
  • bablyon
  • babyllon
  • babylno
  • babylonn
  • babyoln
  • babyylon
  • bayblon
  • bbabylon
  • bbaylon

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of Babylon - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

abbylon2babbylon1bablyon2babyllon1babylno2babylonn1babyoln2babyylon1
Edit distance from "Babylon"

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 "Babylon"?
"Babylon" is spelled B-A-B-Y-L-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈbæb.ɪ.lɒn/.
What does "Babylon" mean?
As a proper noun, "Babylon" means: An ancient city, the ancient capital of Babylonia in modern Iraq, built on the banks of the Euphrates.
What words are commonly confused with "Babylon"?
"Babylon" is commonly confused with "ballon", "baboon". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "Babylon"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Babylon" is /ˈbæb.ɪ.lɒn/. 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 "Babylon"?
Partially inherited from Old English Babilōn/Babȳlōn, partially from Latin Babylōn, from Ancient Greek Βαβυλών (Babulṓn), from Akkadian 𒆍𒀭𒊏𒆠 (Bābilim, literally “Gate of God”); the name of the ancient Chaldean capital and Biblical city of the ... 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.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "Babylon", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

catcher#14,083chassis#14,086wording#14,053whining#14,051

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (11 here; floor ≥5).

urgency11 variantstitanium11 variantsdownfall11 variantssuitcase11 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list