# canton

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈkæntən/ · frequency rank #13,879

## Definitions
1. A division of a political unit.
2. A division of a political unit.
3. A division of a political unit.
4. A division of a political unit.
5. A division of a political unit.
6. A small community or clan.
7. A subdivision of a flag, the rectangular inset on the upper hoist (i.e., flagpole) side, the upper-left quadrant of a flag, (the stars of the US national flag are in a canton).
8. A division of a shield occupying one third of the chief, usually on the dexter side, formed by a perpendicular line from the top meeting a horizontal line from the side.

## Etymology
1530s, from Middle French canton, from Old French canton (“corner”); heraldic sense from the 1570s, geographic sense from c. 1600.

## Easily confused with
- **Cato** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/canton-vs-cato)
- **caron** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/canton-vs-caron)
- **carbon** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/canton-vs-carbon)
- **cotton** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/canton-vs-cotton)
- **canyon** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/canton-vs-canyon)
- **Carson** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/canton-vs-carson)
- **carton** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/canton-vs-carton)
- **castor** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/canton-vs-castor)
- **Colton** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/canton-vs-colton)
- **cantor** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/canton-vs-cantor)
- **cation** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/canton-vs-cation)
- **Condon** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/canton-vs-condon)
- **Conlon** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/canton-vs-conlon)
- **captor** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/canton-vs-captor)
- **Clinton** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/canton-vs-clinton)
- **cartoon** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/canton-vs-cartoon)
- **caution** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/canton-vs-caution)
- **Clayton** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/canton-vs-clayton)
- **caption** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/canton-vs-caption)
- **Carlton** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/canton-vs-carlton)

## Common misspellings (9)
`acnton`, `cannton`, `canotn`, `cantno`, `cantonn`, `cantton`, `catnon`, `ccanton`, `cnaton`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/canton