commencement

/kəˈmɛnsmənt/

//kəˈmɛnsmənt// noun

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

"commencement" is a 12-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“commencement” has 17 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #15,369. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#15,369
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords
17
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The first existence of anything; act or fact of commencing; the beginning.

Corpus desk

Index EN-commencement · commencement · English

commencement · rank #15,369 · 17 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #15,369
  • LEN-MEGA 12 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 17 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH concede

Nearest frequency peer: concede (+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 “commencement”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “commencement” 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
Key facts for commencement
PropertyValue
Headwordcommencement
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/kəˈmɛnsmənt/
Letters12
Frequency rank#15,369
Misspellings tracked17
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “commencement”

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).commencementlands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “concede” (#15,370), “Claus” (#15,367), “Clarkson” (#15,366). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “commencement” is #15,369. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 17 spelling variants around commencement (IPA /kəˈmɛnsmənt/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #15,369 among 5,599 “C” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 17 likely wrong-spelling variants for commencement, with forms such as "ccommencement", "cmomencement", and "comemncement". 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. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

Etymologically, the entry records: From French commencement; analyzable as commence + -ment. The correct English form is commencement, spelled C-O-M-M-E-N-C-E-M-E-N-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    The first existence of anything; act or fact of commencing; the beginning.
  2. 2
    The day when degrees are conferred by colleges and universities upon students and others.
  3. 3
    A graduation ceremony, from a school, college or university. Sometimes before the actual graduation.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. The time of Henry VII nearly coincides with the commencement of what is termed modern history.
  2. Yet from the commencement of mining there have been unnoble proprietors of mines, who belonged to the class of merchants.

Etymology

From French commencement; analyzable as commence + -ment.

This word in other languages

inicio(Español)início(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ccommencement
  • cmomencement
  • comemncement
  • comencement
  • commecnement
  • commenccement
  • commenceemnt
  • commencemennt
  • commencementt
  • commencemetn
  • commencemment
  • commencemnet
  • commencmeent
  • commenecment
  • commenncement
  • commnecement
  • ocmmencement

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

ccommencement1cmomencement2comemncement2comencement1commecnement2commenccement1commenceemnt2commencemennt1
Edit distance from "commencement"

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 "commencement"?
"commencement" is spelled C-O-M-M-E-N-C-E-M-E-N-T. The IPA pronunciation is /kəˈmɛnsmənt/.
What does "commencement" mean?
As a noun, "commencement" means: The first existence of anything; act or fact of commencing; the beginning.
What are common misspellings of "commencement"?
Common misspellings include "ccommencement", "cmomencement", "comemncement", "comencement", "commecnement". The correct spelling is "commencement".
How do you pronounce "commencement"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "commencement" is /kəˈmɛnsmənt/. 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 "commencement"?
From French commencement; analyzable as commence + -ment. 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 "commencement", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 12 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

incompatible#15,429motivational#15,451supplemental#15,285Scandinavian#15,264

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (17 here; floor ≥5).

charismatic17 variantsdisposition17 variantsfabrication17 variantsfascination17 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list