cavitation

/ˌkævɪˈteɪʃən/

//ˌkævɪˈteɪʃən// noun

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

"cavitation" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“cavitation” is uncommon English (frequency #60,702 among 5,599 “C” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#60,702
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The formation of pits on a surface.

Corpus desk

Index EN-cavitation · cavitation · English

cavitation · rank #60,702 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #60,702
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH cationic

Nearest frequency peer: cationic (-1 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.

Long-tail ranks near “cavitation”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “cavitation” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for cavitation
PropertyValue
Headwordcavitation
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˌkævɪˈteɪʃən/
Letters10
Frequency rank#60,702
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “cavitation” in English

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).cavitationfalls in this rarity band:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Rare peers in the same band: “cationic” (#60,701), “CED” (#60,703), “castell” (#60,700). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “cavitation” is #60,702. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

cavitation is uncommon English at frequency #60,702 among 5,599 “C” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˌkævɪˈteɪʃən/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for cavitation, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: From cavity + -ation. The correct English form is cavitation, spelled C-A-V-I-T-A-T-I-O-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    The formation of pits on a surface.
  2. 2
    The formation, in a fluid, of vapor bubbles that rapidly collapse, especially in a rotating marine propeller or pump impeller.
  3. 3
    The formation of cavities in an organ, especially in lung tissue as a result of tuberculosis.

Etymology

From cavity + -ation.

This word in other languages

cavitation(Français)

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 "cavitation"?
"cavitation" is spelled C-A-V-I-T-A-T-I-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is /ˌkævɪˈteɪʃən/.
What does "cavitation" mean?
As a noun, "cavitation" means: The formation of pits on a surface.
How do you pronounce "cavitation"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "cavitation" is /ˌkævɪˈteɪʃən/. 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 "cavitation"?
From cavity + -ation. 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 "cavitation", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 10 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Cassiopeia#60,699caseworker#60,698cantonment#60,690bobblehead#60,662

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list