bone of contention
/ˈbəʊn əv kənˈtɛnʃən/
"bone-of-contention" is a 16-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“bone of contention” is outside the top-ranked English vocabulary, used as a noun - the kind of word writers most often double-check.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 18
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Something that continues to be disputed; something on which no agreement can be reached.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | bone of contention |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈbəʊn əv kənˈtɛnʃən/ |
| Letters | 18 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “bone of contention” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for bone of contention is 18 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈbəʊn əv kənˈtɛnʃən/. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "Something that continues to be disputed; something on which no agreement can be reached.".
Zero misspellings are on record for bone of contention in our index, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
Etymologically, the entry records: A reference to two dogs fighting over the same bone. The correct English form is bone of contention, spelled B-O-N-E- -O-F- -C-O-N-T-E-N-T-I-O-N.
Definition
- 1Something that continues to be disputed; something on which no agreement can be reached.
Etymology
A reference to two dogs fighting over the same bone.
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). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “bone of contention”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is B-O-N-E- -O-F- -C-O-N-T-E-N-T-I-O-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈbəʊn əv kənˈtɛnʃən/ (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.