colon

/ˈkəʊ.lən/

//ˈkəʊ.lən// noun

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

"colon" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“colon” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #12,945. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#12,945
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords
7
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The punctuation mark ⟨:⟩.

Corpus desk

Index EN-colon · colon · English

colon · rank #12,945 · 7 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #12,945
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 7 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH communion

Nearest frequency peer: communion (+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 “colon”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “colon” 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).

colon vs con
60% similar
colon vs coo
60% similar
colon vs cool
60% similar

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

Key facts for colon
PropertyValue
Headwordcolon
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈkəʊ.lən/
Letters5
Frequency rank#12,945
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “colon”

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).colonlands here:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “communion” (#12,946), “cockpit” (#12,943), “condom” (#12,947). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “colon” is #12,945. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 7 spelling variants around colon (IPA /ˈkəʊ.lən/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #12,945 among 5,599 “C” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for colon, with forms such as "ccolon", "cloon", and "collon". 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 20 confusable-pair relationships, "con", "coo", "cool", 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 Latin cōlon (“a member of a verse of poem”), from Ancient Greek κῶλον (kôlon, “a member, limb, clause, part of a verse”). The correct English form is colon, spelled C-O-L-O-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    The punctuation mark ⟨:⟩.
  2. 2
    The triangular colon (especially in context of not being able to type the actual triangular colon).
  3. 3
    A rhetorical figure consisting of a clause which is grammatically, but not logically, complete.
  4. 4
    A clause or group of clauses written as a line, or taken as a standard of measure in ancient manuscripts or texts.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. A colon tells the reader that what follows is closely related to the preceding clause.

Etymology

From Latin cōlon (“a member of a verse of poem”), from Ancient Greek κῶλον (kôlon, “a member, limb, clause, part of a verse”).

Synonyms

colon-point

This word in other languages

dos puntos(Español)deux points(Français)Doppelpunkt(Deutsch)dois-pontos(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ccolon
  • cloon
  • collon
  • colno
  • colonn
  • cooln
  • oclon

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

ccolon1cloon2collon1colno2colonn1cooln2oclon2
Edit distance from "colon"

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 "colon"?
"colon" is spelled C-O-L-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈkəʊ.lən/.
What does "colon" mean?
As a noun, "colon" means: The punctuation mark ⟨:⟩.
What words are commonly confused with "colon"?
"colon" is commonly confused with "con", "coo", "cool". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "colon"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "colon" is /ˈkəʊ.lən/. 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 "colon"?
From Latin cōlon (“a member of a verse of poem”), from Ancient Greek κῶλον (kôlon, “a member, limb, clause, part of a verse”). 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 "colon", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

chant#12,938curly#12,953caste#12,934bumps#12,929

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (7 here; floor ≥5).

Elaine7 variantsEuropa7 variantsbinge7 variantsfamed7 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list