by reason of

prep

"by-reason-of" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“by reason of” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a preposition. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
12
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - By virtue of; resulting from; because of; on account of

Corpus desk

Index EN-by-reason-of · by reason of · English

by reason of · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 12 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "B" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

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.

Key facts for by reason of
PropertyValue
Headwordby reason of
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechPreposition
Letters12
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “by reason of” in English

by reason ofsits beyond the 100,000 most-frequent English words, in the long tail of technical, archaic, or otherwise rare vocabulary where spelling doubt tends to strike hardest.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

by reason of is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as apreposition. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "By virtue of; resulting from; because of; on account of".

by reason of has no tracked misspelling variants, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

This entry carries no recorded etymology, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct English form is by reason of, spelled B-Y- -R-E-A-S-O-N- -O-F.

Definition

  1. 1
    By virtue of; resulting from; because of; on account of

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. If this was unrestricted freehold, the land is available for sale or lease, although often it is not readily marketable, by reason of its shape and access; neighbouring landowners are possible purchasers. In some cases, reversionary rights were reserved to neighbouring landowners when the land was acquired.

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

How do you spell "by reason of"?
"by reason of" is spelled B-Y- -R-E-A-S-O-N- -O-F.
What does "by reason of" mean?
As a preposition, "by reason of" means: By virtue of; resulting from; because of; on account of
What language does "by reason of" come from?
"by reason of" is a English word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list