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connection

Definition, pronunciation, etymology, and usage for the English word. Free spelling reference powered by Wiktionary.

Letters

10 characters

Language

English

word origin

Source

Wiktionary

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Detailed reference entry for the English word "connection", 10-letters, with pronunciation in International Phonetic Alphabet notation, etymology traced through Germanic and Romance roots where applicable, common misspelling variants catalogued from Hunspell error dictionaries, and usage frequency ranked against the top 100,000 English words in the Wordfreq corpus. PlainSpell covers English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German spelling with confusable-pair detection that highlights visually and phonetically similar words. This entry for "connection" includes synonyms, antonyms, homophones, and cross-language translation pointers sourced from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org extract. Whether you are verifying the correct spelling of "connection" for academic writing, checking homophone confusion, or exploring etymological origins, this page provides a citation-backed, free reference that requires no sign-up.

connection is aEnglishnoun. It means: The act of connecting. Pronounced /kəˈnɛkʃ(ə)n/. It ranks #1,788 in English word frequency. Often confused with connector and convention.

Key facts for connection
PropertyValue
Headwordconnection
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/kəˈnɛkʃ(ə)n/
Letters10
Frequency rank#1,788
Misspellings tracked14
Confusable pairs14
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency rank visualization

Position of connection in English word frequency (lower rank = more common)

Source: Wordfreq corpus

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for connection is 10 letters long, classified as anoun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /kəˈnɛkʃ(ə)n/. Corpus data places it at rank #1,788 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text.Wiktionary records 12 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our Hunspell-derived misspelling index lists 14 documented wrong-spelling variants for connection, with forms such as "cconnection", "cnonection", and "conection". Each variant represents a distinct typo pattern that appears often enough in corpora to be worth flagging, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution.It also participates in 14 confusable-pair relationships, "connector", "convention", "conviction", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English conneccioun, connexioun, conneccyon, conneccion, from Latin connexionem (nominative connexio (“a conclusion, binding together”)), from connectō, an alternative spelling of cōnectō (“to bind together”), from compound of co- (“together”) a… Root origin matters for spelling because borrowed morphemes (Greek, Latin, Old French, Old English) carry their source-language orthographic conventions into modern English, which is why historical etymology is often the cleanest predictor of whether a cluster like "-ough", "-eau", or "-tion" will appear. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct English form is connection, spelled C-O-N-N-E-C-T-I-O-N, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

Definition

  1. 1
    The act of connecting.
  2. 2
    The point at which two or more things are connected.
  3. 3
    A feeling of understanding and ease of communication between two or more people.
  4. 4
    An established communications or transportation link.
  5. 5
    A transfer from one transportation vehicle to another in scheduled transportation service.
  6. 6
    A kinship relationship between people.
  7. 7
    A person related to oneself, through either family or business.
  8. 8
    A set of sets that contains the empty set, all one-element sets for any element that is included in any of the sets, and the union of any group of sets that are elements where the intersections of those sets is non-empty.
  9. 9
    Coherence; lack of disjointedness.
  10. 10
    A Methodist denomination as a whole, as opposed to its constituent churches, circuits, districts and conferences.
  11. 11
    Sexual intercourse.
  12. 12
    A drug dealer.

Etymology

From Middle English conneccioun, connexioun, conneccyon, conneccion, from Latin connexionem (nominative connexio (“a conclusion, binding together”)), from connectō, an alternative spelling of cōnectō (“to bind together”), from compound of co- (“together”) and nectō (“to bind”). In American English mid-18c., spelling shifted from connexion to connection (equivalent to connect + -ion), thus making connexion British dated and connection in international use.

Synonyms

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: cconnection,cnonection,conection,conenction,conncetion,connecction,conneciton,connecsion,connectino,connectionn,connectoin,connecttion,connetcion,ocnnection

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

Relative frequency of common misspelling types for connection

Misspelling Variants of "connection"

cconnection11cnonection10conection9conenction10conncetion10connecction11conneciton10connecsion10
Misspelling Variants of "connection"

Frequency rank: #1,788 in English

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "connection"?
"connection" is spelled C-O-N-N-E-C-T-I-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is /kəˈnɛkʃ(ə)n/.
What does "connection" mean?
As a noun, "connection" means: The act of connecting.
What words are commonly confused with "connection"?
"connection" is commonly confused with "connector", "convention", "conviction". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "connection"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "connection" is /kəˈnɛkʃ(ə)n/. 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 "connection"?
From Middle English conneccioun, connexioun, conneccyon, conneccion, from Latin connexionem (nominative connexio (“a conclusion, binding together”)), from connectō, an alternative spelling of cōnectō (“to bind together”), from compound of co- (“to... 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.

Nearby English words

Other entries that begin with the letter C in our English index:

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Data Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Frequency data from Wordfreq. Misspellings derived from Hunspell dictionaries.