composition
/ˌkɒmpəˈzɪʃən/
"composition" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“composition” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #4,069 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #4,069
- frequency rank, English
- 11
- letters
- 17
- tracked misspellings
- 2
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The act of putting together; assembly.
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 | composition |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˌkɒmpəˈzɪʃən/ |
| Letters | 11 |
| Frequency rank | #4,069 |
| Misspellings tracked | 17 |
| Confusable pairs | 2 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “composition” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for composition is 11 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˌkɒmpəˈzɪʃən/. Corpus data places it at rank #4,069 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 19 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 17 likely wrong-spelling variants for composition, with forms such as "ccomposition", "cmoposition", and "commposition". 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 2 confusable-pair relationships, "compositional", "competition", 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 composicioun, borrowed from Old French composicion, from Latin compositiō, compositiōnem. The correct English form is composition, spelled C-O-M-P-O-S-I-T-I-O-N.
Definition
- 1The act of putting together; assembly.
- 2A mixture or compound; the result of composing.
- 3The proportion of different parts to make a whole.
- 4The general makeup of a thing or person.
- 5A puzzle created by the composer using chess pieces on a chessboard, which presents the solver with a particular task.
- 6An agreement or treaty used to settle differences; later especially, an agreement to stop hostilities; a truce.
- 7A payment of money in order to clear a liability or obligation; a settling or fine.
- 8A payment of money in order to clear a liability or obligation; a settling or fine.
- 9an agreement or compromise by which a creditor or group of creditors accepts partial payment from a debtor.
- 10An essay.
- 11The formation of compound words from separate words.
- 12A work of music, literature or art.
- 13Typesetting.
- 14Applying a function to the result of another.
- 15The compounding of two velocities or forces into a single equivalent velocity or force.
- 16Consistency; accord; congruity.
- 17Synthesis as opposed to analysis.
- 18The arrangement and flow of elements in a picture.
- 19Way to combine simple objects or data types into more complex ones.
Etymology
From Middle English composicioun, borrowed from Old French composicion, from Latin compositiō, compositiōnem.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: ccomposition,cmoposition,commposition,comopsition,compoistion,composiiton,composision,compositino,compositionn,compositoin,composittion,compossition,compostiion,compposition,compsoition,copmosition,ocmposition
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of composition - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.
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 "composition"?
What does "composition" mean?
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Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “composition”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is C-O-M-P-O-S-I-T-I-O-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˌkɒmpəˈzɪʃən/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “compositional” - see the side-by-side comparison. composition vs compositional
- 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.