collection

/kəˈlɛkʃən/

//kəˈlɛkʃən// noun

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

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

The verdict

“collection” has 14 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #1,161. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#1,161
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords
14
tracked misspellings
8
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A set of items or amount of material procured, gathered or presented together.

Corpus desk

Index EN-collection · collection · English

collection · rank #1,161 · 14 variants · 8 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #1,161
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 8 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 14 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH coach

Nearest frequency peer: coach (-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 “collection”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “collection” 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).

collection vs collector
80% similar
collection vs connection
80% similar
collection vs collective
80% similar

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

Key facts for collection
PropertyValue
Headwordcollection
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/kəˈlɛkʃən/
Letters10
Frequency rank#1,161
Misspellings tracked14
Confusable pairs8
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “collection”

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).collectionlands 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 “coach” (#1,160), “continued” (#1,162), “calling” (#1,159). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “collection” is #1,161. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 14 spelling variants around collection (IPA /kəˈlɛkʃən/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #1,161 among 5,599 “C” headwords. Wiktionary lists 10 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 14 likely wrong-spelling variants for collection, with forms such as "ccollection", "clolection", and "colection". 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 8 confusable-pair relationships, "collector", "connection", "collective", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English colleccioun, collection, from Old French collection, from Latin collēctiō, collēctiōnem, from collēctus, from colligō (“collect together”), composed of con- + legō (“bring together, gather, collect”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European … The correct English form is collection, spelled C-O-L-L-E-C-T-I-O-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    A set of items or amount of material procured, gathered or presented together.
  2. 2
    A set of pitch classes used by a composer.
  3. 3
    The activity of collecting.
  4. 4
    A set of sets; used because such a thing is in general too large to comply with the formal definition of a set.
  5. 5
    A gathering of money for charitable or other purposes, as by passing a contribution box for donations.
  6. 6
    Debt collection.
  7. 7
    The act of inferring or concluding from premises or observed facts; also, that which is inferred.
  8. 8
    The jurisdiction of a collector of excise.
  9. 9
    A set of college exams generally taken at the start of the term.
  10. 10
    The quality of being collected; calm composure.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. The attic contains a remarkable collection of antiques, oddities, and random junk.
  2. The asteroid belt consists of a collection of dust, rubble, and minor planets.

Etymology

From Middle English colleccioun, collection, from Old French collection, from Latin collēctiō, collēctiōnem, from collēctus, from colligō (“collect together”), composed of con- + legō (“bring together, gather, collect”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *leǵ- (“to gather, collect”). Equivalen to collect + -ion.

This word in other languages

colección(Español)collection(Français)Sammlung(Deutsch)coleção(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ccollection
  • clolection
  • colection
  • colelction
  • collcetion
  • collecction
  • colleciton
  • collecsion
  • collectino
  • collectionn
  • collectoin
  • collecttion
  • colletcion
  • ocllection

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of collection - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

ccollection1clolection2colection1colelction2collcetion2collecction1colleciton2collecsion1
Edit distance from "collection"

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 "collection"?
"collection" is spelled C-O-L-L-E-C-T-I-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is /kəˈlɛkʃən/.
What does "collection" mean?
As a noun, "collection" means: A set of items or amount of material procured, gathered or presented together.
What words are commonly confused with "collection"?
"collection" is commonly confused with "collector", "connection", "collective". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "collection"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "collection" is /kəˈlɛkʃən/. 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 "collection"?
From Middle English colleccioun, collection, from Old French collection, from Latin collēctiō, collēctiōnem, from collēctus, from colligō (“collect together”), composed of con- + legō (“bring together, gather, collect”), ultimately from Proto-Indo... 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 "collection", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

definitely#1,164interested#1,192conditions#1,117additional#1,115

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (14 here; floor ≥5).

statement14 variantsknowledge14 variantsimmediately14 variantssecretary14 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list