cartoon

/kɑːˈtuːn/

//kɑːˈtuːn// noun

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

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

The verdict

“cartoon” has 9 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #6,221. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#6,221
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords
9
tracked misspellings
13
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A humorous drawing, often with a caption, or a strip of such drawings.

Corpus desk

Index EN-cartoon · cartoon · English

cartoon · rank #6,221 · 9 variants · 13 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #6,221
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 13 pairs
  • VAR-MID 9 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH butler

Nearest frequency peer: butler (-2 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 “cartoon”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “cartoon” 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).

cartoon vs cation
71% similar
cartoon vs caution
71% similar
cartoon vs caron
71% similar

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

Key facts for cartoon
PropertyValue
Headwordcartoon
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/kɑːˈtuːn/
Letters7
Frequency rank#6,221
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs13
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “cartoon”

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).cartoonlands here:

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “butler” (#6,219), “chick” (#6,223), “bud” (#6,218). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “cartoon” is #6,221. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 9 spelling variants around cartoon (IPA /kɑːˈtuːn/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #6,221 among 5,599 “C” headwords. Wiktionary lists 7 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for cartoon, with forms such as "acrtoon", "caroton", and "carrtoon". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 13 confusable-pair relationships, "cation", "caution", "caron", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: In British English first, from French carton (“sketch, cardboard, card”), from Italian cartone (“cardboard, carton, box”), augmentative of carta (“paper”), from Latin carta (“papyrus, paper”), from Ancient Greek χάρτης (khártēs) (see there for further etymo… The correct English form is cartoon, spelled C-A-R-T-O-O-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    A humorous drawing, often with a caption, or a strip of such drawings.
  2. 2
    A drawing satirising current public figures.
  3. 3
    An artist's preliminary sketch.
  4. 4
    A full-sized drawing that serves as the template for a fresco, a tapestry, etc.
  5. 5
    An animated piece of film which is often but not exclusively humorous.
  6. 6
    A cartoon series.
  7. 7
    A diagram in a scientific concept.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. The newspaper published a political cartoon mocking the mayor.
  2. The children watched a funny cartoon on TV.

Etymology

In British English first, from French carton (“sketch, cardboard, card”), from Italian cartone (“cardboard, carton, box”), augmentative of carta (“paper”), from Latin carta (“papyrus, paper”), from Ancient Greek χάρτης (khártēs) (see there for further etymology). Doublet of carton and card.

Synonyms

comic stripstrip cartooncaricaturepolitical cartoonanimated cartoonanimation

This word in other languages

viñeta(Español)bande dessinée(Français)Karton(Deutsch)cartum(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • acrtoon
  • caroton
  • carrtoon
  • cartono
  • cartoonn
  • carttoon
  • catroon
  • ccartoon
  • cratoon

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of cartoon - 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.

acrtoon2caroton2carrtoon1cartono2cartoonn1carttoon1catroon2ccartoon1
Edit distance from "cartoon"

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 "cartoon"?
"cartoon" is spelled C-A-R-T-O-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is /kɑːˈtuːn/.
What does "cartoon" mean?
As a noun, "cartoon" means: A humorous drawing, often with a caption, or a strip of such drawings.
What words are commonly confused with "cartoon"?
"cartoon" is commonly confused with "cation", "caution", "caron". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "cartoon"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "cartoon" is /kɑːˈtuːn/. 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 "cartoon"?
In British English first, from French carton (“sketch, cardboard, card”), from Italian cartone (“cardboard, carton, box”), augmentative of carta (“paper”), from Latin carta (“papyrus, paper”), from Ancient Greek χάρτης (khártēs) (see there for fur... 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 "cartoon", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

console#6,227approve#6,208where's#6,200fathers#6,243

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (9 here; floor ≥5).

butler9 variantsDublin9 variantsfabric9 variantstender9 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list