commission

/kəˈmɪʃən/

//kəˈmɪʃən// noun

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

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

The verdict

“commission” has 12 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #1,299. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#1,299
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords
12
tracked misspellings
4
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A sending or mission (to do or accomplish something).

Corpus desk

Index EN-commission · commission · English

commission · rank #1,299 · 12 variants · 4 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #1,299
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 4 pairs
  • VAR-MID 12 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH color

Nearest frequency peer: color (-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 “commission”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “commission” 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).

commission vs compassion
80% similar
commission vs commissions
91% similar
commission vs commissioner
83% similar

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

Key facts for commission
PropertyValue
Headwordcommission
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/kəˈmɪʃən/
Letters10
Frequency rank#1,299
Misspellings tracked12
Confusable pairs4
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “commission”

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).commissionlands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “color” (#1,298), “competition” (#1,300), “Christmas” (#1,297). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “commission” is #1,299. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 12 spelling variants around commission (IPA /kəˈmɪʃən/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #1,299 among 5,599 “C” headwords. Wiktionary lists 6 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for commission, with forms such as "ccommission", "cmomission", and "comimssion". 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 4 confusable-pair relationships, "compassion", "commissions", "commissioner", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English commissioun, from Old French commission, from Latin commissiō (“sending together; commission”), from prefix com- (“with”) + noun of action missiō (“sending”), from perfect passive participle missus (“sent”), from the verb mittō (“to send… The correct English form is commission, spelled C-O-M-M-I-S-S-I-O-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    A sending or mission (to do or accomplish something).
  2. 2
    An official charge or authority to do something, often used of military officers.
  3. 3
    The thing to be done as agent for another.
  4. 4
    A body or group of people, officially tasked with carrying out a particular function.
  5. 5
    A fee charged by an agent or broker for carrying out a transaction.
  6. 6
    The act of committing (e.g. a crime or error).

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. David received his commission after graduating from West Point.
  2. Let him see our commission.

Etymology

From Middle English commissioun, from Old French commission, from Latin commissiō (“sending together; commission”), from prefix com- (“with”) + noun of action missiō (“sending”), from perfect passive participle missus (“sent”), from the verb mittō (“to send”) + noun of action suffix -iō.

This word in other languages

misión(Español)commission(Français)Auftrag(Deutsch)missão(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ccommission
  • cmomission
  • comimssion
  • comission
  • commision
  • commisison
  • commissino
  • commissionn
  • commissoin
  • commistion
  • commsision
  • ocmmission

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

ccommission1cmomission2comimssion2comission1commision1commisison2commissino2commissionn1
Edit distance from "commission"

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 "commission"?
"commission" is spelled C-O-M-M-I-S-S-I-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is /kəˈmɪʃən/.
What does "commission" mean?
As a noun, "commission" means: A sending or mission (to do or accomplish something).
What words are commonly confused with "commission"?
"commission" is commonly confused with "compassion", "commissions", "commissioner". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "commission"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "commission" is /kəˈmɪʃən/. 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 "commission"?
From Middle English commissioun, from Old French commission, from Latin commissiō (“sending together; commission”), from prefix com- (“with”) + noun of action missiō (“sending”), from perfect passive participle missus (“sent”), from the verb mittō... 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 "commission", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

activities#1,290commercial#1,266Australian#1,242associated#1,357

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (12 here; floor ≥5).

analysis12 variantsliterally12 variantsnecessary12 variantspictures12 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list