center of gravity

/ˌsɛn.təɹ əv ˈɡɹæv.ə.ti/

//ˌsɛn.təɹ əv ˈɡɹæv.ə.ti// noun

"center-of-gravity" is a 15-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

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

Unranked
below top-frequency English
17
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A point, near or within a body, through which its weight can be assumed to act when considering forces on the body and its motion under gravity. This coincides with the center of mass in a uniform ...

Corpus desk

Index EN-center-of-gravity · center of gravity · English

center of gravity · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 17 letters
  • VOW-6 6 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "C" 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 center of gravity
PropertyValue
Headwordcenter of gravity
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˌsɛn.təɹ əv ˈɡɹæv.ə.ti/
Letters17
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “center of gravity” in English

center of gravityranks outside the top 100,000 English headwords, in the long tail of specialist, archaic, or seldom-used vocabulary, exactly the territory where a reader stops mid-sentence to double-check spelling.

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

Rare enough to double-check

center of gravity is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˌsɛn.təɹ əv ˈɡɹæv.ə.ti/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

No generated misspelling entries exist for center of gravity in our index, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

Wiktionary doesn't record an etymology for this headword, so its spelling is easiest to reason about phoneme by phoneme, absent a documented history. The correct English form is center of gravity, spelled C-E-N-T-E-R- -O-F- -G-R-A-V-I-T-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    A point, near or within a body, through which its weight can be assumed to act when considering forces on the body and its motion under gravity. This coincides with the center of mass in a uniform gravitational field.
  2. 2
    The most central or important part of something, or around which everything else revolves.

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 "center of gravity"?
"center of gravity" is spelled C-E-N-T-E-R- -O-F- -G-R-A-V-I-T-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˌsɛn.təɹ əv ˈɡɹæv.ə.ti/.
What does "center of gravity" mean?
As a noun, "center of gravity" means: A point, near or within a body, through which its weight can be assumed to act when considering forces on the body and its motion under gravity. This coincides with the center of mass in a uniform ...
How do you pronounce "center of gravity"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "center of gravity" is /ˌsɛn.təɹ əv ˈɡɹæv.ə.ti/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "center of gravity" come from?
"center of gravity" is a English word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
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