congestion

/kənˈd͡ʒɛs.t͡ʃən/

//kənˈd͡ʒɛs.t͡ʃən// noun

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

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

The verdict

“congestion” has 16 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #11,854. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#11,854
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords
16
tracked misspellings
8
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The hindrance or blockage of the passage of something, for example a fluid, mixture, traffic, people, etc. (due to an excess of this or due to a partial or complete obstruction), resulting in overf...

Corpus desk

Index EN-congestion · congestion · English

congestion · rank #11,854 · 16 variants · 8 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #11,854
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 8 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 16 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH collateral

Nearest frequency peer: collateral (-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 “congestion”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “congestion” 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).

congestion vs connection
80% similar
congestion vs convention
80% similar
congestion vs contention
80% similar

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

Key facts for congestion
PropertyValue
Headwordcongestion
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/kənˈd͡ʒɛs.t͡ʃən/
Letters10
Frequency rank#11,854
Misspellings tracked16
Confusable pairs8
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “congestion”

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).congestionlands 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 “collateral” (#11,853), “conquered” (#11,855), “cliffs” (#11,852). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “congestion” is #11,854. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 16 spelling variants around congestion (IPA /kənˈd͡ʒɛs.t͡ʃən/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #11,854 among 5,599 “C” headwords. Wiktionary lists 5 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 16 likely wrong-spelling variants for congestion, with forms such as "ccongestion", "cnogestion", and "cognestion". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 8 confusable-pair relationships, "connection", "convention", "contention", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From late Middle English congestioun, from Old French [Term?], from Latin congestĭō (“heap, accumulation”), from congerō (“to bring together, accumulate, heap up”), formed by the root gerō (“to carry”) and the prefix con-. The correct English form is congestion, spelled C-O-N-G-E-S-T-I-O-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    The hindrance or blockage of the passage of something, for example a fluid, mixture, traffic, people, etc. (due to an excess of this or due to a partial or complete obstruction), resulting in overfilling or overcrowding.
  2. 2
    The hindrance or blockage of the passage of something, for example a fluid, mixture, traffic, people, etc. (due to an excess of this or due to a partial or complete obstruction), resulting in overfilling or overcrowding.
  3. 3
    An excess or accumulation of something.
  4. 4
    An excess or accumulation of something.
  5. 5
    An excess or accumulation of something.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. network congestion
  2. arterial congestion

Etymology

From late Middle English congestioun, from Old French [Term?], from Latin congestĭō (“heap, accumulation”), from congerō (“to bring together, accumulate, heap up”), formed by the root gerō (“to carry”) and the prefix con-.

This word in other languages

congestión(Español)embouteillage(Français)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ccongestion
  • cnogestion
  • cognestion
  • conegstion
  • congesiton
  • congession
  • congesstion
  • congestino
  • congestionn
  • congestoin
  • congesttion
  • congetsion
  • conggestion
  • congsetion
  • conngestion
  • ocngestion

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

ccongestion1cnogestion2cognestion2conegstion2congesiton2congession1congesstion1congestino2
Edit distance from "congestion"

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 "congestion"?
"congestion" is spelled C-O-N-G-E-S-T-I-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is /kənˈd͡ʒɛs.t͡ʃən/.
What does "congestion" mean?
As a noun, "congestion" means: The hindrance or blockage of the passage of something, for example a fluid, mixture, traffic, people, etc. (due to an excess of this or due to a partial or complete obstruction), resulting in overf...
What words are commonly confused with "congestion"?
"congestion" is commonly confused with "connection", "convention", "contention". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "congestion"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "congestion" is /kənˈd͡ʒɛs.t͡ʃən/. 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 "congestion"?
From late Middle English congestioun, from Old French [Term?], from Latin congestĭō (“heap, accumulation”), from congerō (“to bring together, accumulate, heap up”), formed by the root gerō (“to carry”) and the prefix con-. 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 "congestion", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

collateral#11,853blockchain#11,843dependence#11,867accelerate#11,829

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (16 here; floor ≥5).

Alzheimer's16 variantsabsorption16 variantstranslator16 variantsmisconduct16 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list