chevron

/ˈʃɛvɹən/

//ˈʃɛvɹən// noun

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

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

The verdict

“chevron” has 11 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #20,310. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#20,310
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords
11
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A V-shaped pattern; used in architecture, and as an insignia of military or police rank, on the sleeve.

Corpus desk

Index EN-chevron · chevron · English

chevron · rank #20,310 · 11 variants · 1 confusable

  • FREQ-MID #20,310
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
  • VAR-MID 11 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH Cheyenne

Nearest frequency peer: Cheyenne (+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 “chevron”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “chevron” 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).

chevron vs Chiron
57% similar

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

Key facts for chevron
PropertyValue
Headwordchevron
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈʃɛvɹən/
Letters7
Frequency rank#20,310
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “chevron”

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).chevronlands 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 “Cheyenne” (#20,311), “camped” (#20,308), “coercion” (#20,313). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “chevron” is #20,310. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 11 spelling variants around chevron (IPA /ˈʃɛvɹən/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #20,310 among 5,599 “C” headwords. Wiktionary lists 8 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for chevron, with forms such as "cchevron", "cehvron", and "chervon". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "Chiron", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *kápros Proto-Italic *kapros Latin caper Latin *capreus Vulgar Latin *capriō Old French chevronbor. Middle English cheveroun English chevron From Middle English cheveroun, from Old French chevron, the mark so called becaus… The correct English form is chevron, spelled C-H-E-V-R-O-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    A V-shaped pattern; used in architecture, and as an insignia of military or police rank, on the sleeve.
  2. 2
    A wide inverted V placed on a shield.
  3. 3
    One of the V-shaped markings on the surface of roads used to indicate minimum distances between vehicles.
  4. 4
    A guillemet, either of the punctuation marks “«” or “»”, used in several languages to indicate passages of speech. Similar to typical quotation marks used in the English language such as ““” and “””.
  5. 5
    An angle bracket, either used as a typographic or a scientific symbol.
  6. 6
    A háček, a diacritical mark that may resemble an inverted circumflex.
  7. 7
    A wedge-shaped sediment deposit observed on coastlines and continental interiors around the world.
  8. 8
    Synonym of arrowhead (“horse jump obstacle”).

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. 2009, Jamie Dunn, Truckie has a point, Sunshine Coast Daily Online, June 13, 2009. I told you that in fact they were called chevrons and it was an exercise by the transport department to teach us to stay two chevrons behind the car in front.
  2. It is pertinent to remember, however, that one of the greatest phoneticians, Jan Hus, used diacritics (in the form of points, which have later become chevrons in his own language), and that his alphabet is the most satisfactory for eastern Europe, since it has been officially adopted by the languages which use the Latin script.

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *kápros Proto-Italic *kapros Latin caper Latin *capreus Vulgar Latin *capriō Old French chevronbor. Middle English cheveroun English chevron From Middle English cheveroun, from Old French chevron, the mark so called because it looks like rafters of a shallow roof, from Vulgar Latin *capriō, from Latin caper (“goat”), the likely connection between goats and rafters being the animal's horns.

Synonyms

stripewicketangle bracket

This word in other languages

cabrio(Español)chevron(Français)Sparren(Deutsch)cabria(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • cchevron
  • cehvron
  • chervon
  • chevorn
  • chevrno
  • chevronn
  • chevrron
  • chevvron
  • chhevron
  • chveron
  • hcevron

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

cchevron1cehvron2chervon2chevorn2chevrno2chevronn1chevrron1chevvron1
Edit distance from "chevron"

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 "chevron"?
"chevron" is spelled C-H-E-V-R-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈʃɛvɹən/.
What does "chevron" mean?
As a noun, "chevron" means: A V-shaped pattern; used in architecture, and as an insignia of military or police rank, on the sleeve.
What words are commonly confused with "chevron"?
"chevron" is commonly confused with "Chiron". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "chevron"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "chevron" is /ˈʃɛvɹən/. 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 "chevron"?
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *kápros Proto-Italic *kapros Latin caper Latin *capreus Vulgar Latin *capriō Old French chevronbor. Middle English cheveroun English chevron From Middle English cheveroun, from Old French chevron, the mark so cal... 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 "chevron", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

Burmese#20,306Colombo#20,314bravely#20,302battled#20,295

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (11 here; floor ≥5).

coercion11 variantsaudacity11 variantsdashing11 variantsditched11 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list