champion

/ˈt͡ʃæm.pi.ən/

//ˈt͡ʃæm.pi.ən// noun

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

"champion" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“champion” has 12 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #2,381. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#2,381
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords
12
tracked misspellings
3
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - An ongoing winner in a game or contest.

Corpus desk

Index EN-champion · champion · English

champion · rank #2,381 · 12 variants · 3 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #2,381
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 3 pairs
  • VAR-MID 12 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH begins

Nearest frequency peer: begins (-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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “champion”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “champion” 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).

champion vs Chapin
63% similar
champion vs campion
88% similar
champion vs champaign
78% similar

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

Key facts for champion
PropertyValue
Headwordchampion
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈt͡ʃæm.pi.ən/
Letters8
Frequency rank#2,381
Misspellings tracked12
Confusable pairs3
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “champion”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).championlands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “begins” (#2,380), “charged” (#2,382), “allowing” (#2,379). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “champion” is #2,381. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 12 spelling variants around champion (IPA /ˈt͡ʃæm.pi.ən/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #2,381 among 5,599 “C” headwords. Wiktionary lists 5 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for champion, with forms such as "cahmpion", "cchampion", and "chamipon". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 3 confusable-pair relationships, "Chapin", "campion", "champaign", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *kh₂em-der. Proto-Indo-European *kh₂ém-po-s Proto-Italic *kampos Latin campusbor. Frankish *kamp Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Germanic *-janą Frankish *-jan Frankish *kampijan Proto-Germanic *-jô Frankish *-jō Frankish… The correct English form is champion, spelled C-H-A-M-P-I-O-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    An ongoing winner in a game or contest.
  2. 2
    Someone who is chosen to represent a group of people in a contest.
  3. 3
    Someone who fights for a cause or status.
  4. 4
    Someone who fights on another's behalf.
  5. 5
    A particularly notable member of a plant species, such as one of great size.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. The defending champion is expected to defeat his challenger.
  2. Curry, a four-time NBA champion with the Warriors, played for the Wildcats for three seasons between 2006 and 2009, where he was twice named conference player of the year.

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *kh₂em-der. Proto-Indo-European *kh₂ém-po-s Proto-Italic *kampos Latin campusbor. Frankish *kamp Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Germanic *-janą Frankish *-jan Frankish *kampijan Proto-Germanic *-jô Frankish *-jō Frankish *kampijōbor. Medieval Latin campiō Old French champiunbor. Middle English champioun English champion From Middle English champioun, from Old French champion, from Medieval Latin campio (“combatant in a duel, champion”), from Frankish *kampijō (“fighter”), from Proto-West Germanic *kampijō (“combat soldier”), a derivative of *kampijan (“to battle, to campaign”), itself a derivative of *kamp (“battlefield, battle”), ultimately a borrowing in West-Germanic from Latin campus (“a field, a plain, a place of action”). By surface analysis champ + -ion. Cognate with Old English cæmpa, cempa (“soldier, warrior, champion”), Old High German kempfeo, kempfo (“fighter, warrior, champion”), whence archaic German Kempfe (“fighter”).

This word in other languages

campeón(Español)champion(Français)Sieger(Deutsch)campeão(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • cahmpion
  • cchampion
  • chamipon
  • chammpion
  • champino
  • championn
  • champoin
  • champpion
  • chapmion
  • chhampion
  • chmapion
  • hcampion

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of champion - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

cahmpion2cchampion1chamipon2chammpion1champino2championn1champoin2champpion1
Edit distance from "champion"

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 "champion"?
"champion" is spelled C-H-A-M-P-I-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈt͡ʃæm.pi.ən/.
What does "champion" mean?
As a noun, "champion" means: An ongoing winner in a game or contest.
What words are commonly confused with "champion"?
"champion" is commonly confused with "Chapin", "campion", "champaign". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "champion"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "champion" is /ˈt͡ʃæm.pi.ən/. 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 "champion"?
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *kh₂em-der. Proto-Indo-European *kh₂ém-po-s Proto-Italic *kampos Latin campusbor. Frankish *kamp Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Germanic *-janą Frankish *-jan Frankish *kampijan Proto-Germanic *-jô Frankish *-j... 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 "champion", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

allowing#2,379whenever#2,375opposite#2,399remained#2,403

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (12 here; floor ≥5).

launched12 variantsinspired12 variantsvehicles12 variantsexamples12 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list