citation
/ˌsaɪˈteɪʃn̩/
"citation" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“citation” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #9,299 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #9,299
- frequency rank, English
- 8
- letters
- 12
- tracked misspellings
- 3
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - An official summons or notice given to a person to appear.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | citation |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˌsaɪˈteɪʃn̩/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #9,299 |
| Misspellings tracked | 12 |
| Confusable pairs | 3 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “citation” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for citation is 8 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˌsaɪˈteɪʃn̩/. Corpus data places it at rank #9,299 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 9 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for citation, with forms such as "ccitation", "ciattion", and "citaiton". 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, "creation", "curation", "cation", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English citacioun, from Old French citation, from Latin citātiō. By surface analysis, cite + -ation. The correct English form is citation, spelled C-I-T-A-T-I-O-N.
Definition
- 1An official summons or notice given to a person to appear.
- 2The paper containing such summons or notice.
- 3The act of citing a passage from a text, or from another person, using the exact words of the original text or speech and giving credit to the original by referencing.
- 4An entry in a list of sources from which information was taken, typically following a prescribed bibliographical style; a reference.
- 5The passage or words quoted; a quotation.
- 6A quotation with attached bibliographical details demonstrating the use of a particular lexical item in a dictionary, especially a dictionary on historical principles.
- 7Enumeration; mention.
- 8A reference to decided cases, or books of authority, to prove a point in law.
- 9A commendation in recognition of some achievement, or a formal statement of an achievement.
Etymology
From Middle English citacioun, from Old French citation, from Latin citātiō. By surface analysis, cite + -ation.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: ccitation,ciattion,citaiton,citasion,citatino,citationn,citatoin,citattion,cittaion,cittation,ctiation,ictation
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of citation - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
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
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Using “citation”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is C-I-T-A-T-I-O-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˌsaɪˈteɪʃn̩/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “creation” - see the side-by-side comparison. citation vs creation
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.