beacon
/ˈbiːkən/
"beacon" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“beacon” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #10,497 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #10,497
- frequency rank, English
- 6
- letters
- 8
- tracked misspellings
- 11
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A signal fire to notify of the approach of an enemy, or to give any notice, commonly of warning.
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 | beacon |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈbiːkən/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #10,497 |
| Misspellings tracked | 8 |
| Confusable pairs | 11 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “beacon” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for beacon is 6 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈbiːkən/. Corpus data places it at rank #10,497 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 6 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for beacon, with forms such as "baecon", "bbeacon", and "beaccon". 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 11 confusable-pair relationships, "bean", "beaten", "Benson", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English beken, from Old English bēacn (“sign, signal”), from Proto-West Germanic *baukn, from Proto-Germanic *baukną, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂u-, *bʰeh₂- (“to shine”). Doublet of buoy. Compare West Frisian beaken (“buoy”), Dutch baken (“b… The correct English form is beacon, spelled B-E-A-C-O-N.
Definition
- 1A signal fire to notify of the approach of an enemy, or to give any notice, commonly of warning.
- 2A signal, buoy, post, or other conspicuous mark erected on an eminence near the shore, or moored in shoal water, as a guide to mariners, particularly to warn vessels of danger.
- 3A high hill or other easily distinguishable object near the shore which can serve as guidance for seafarers.
- 4That which gives notice of danger, hope, etc., or keeps people on the correct path; a source of inspiration.
- 5An electronic device that broadcasts a signal to nearby portable devices, enabling smartphones etc. to perform actions when in physical proximity to the beacon.
- 6Ellipsis of web beacon.
Etymology
From Middle English beken, from Old English bēacn (“sign, signal”), from Proto-West Germanic *baukn, from Proto-Germanic *baukną, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂u-, *bʰeh₂- (“to shine”). Doublet of buoy. Compare West Frisian beaken (“buoy”), Dutch baken (“beacon”), Middle Low German bāke (“beacon, sign”), German Bake (“traffic sign”), Middle High German bouchen (“sign”).
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: baecon,bbeacon,beaccon,beacno,beaconn,beaocn,becaon,ebacon
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of beacon - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
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 "beacon"?
What does "beacon" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "beacon"?
How do you pronounce "beacon"?
What is the origin of the word "beacon"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “beacon”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is B-E-A-C-O-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈbiːkən/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “bean” - see the side-by-side comparison. beacon vs bean
- 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.