contraption
con·trap·tion/kənˈtɹæp.ʃən/noun
contraption is spelled C-O-N-T-R-A-P-T-I-O-N: 11 letters and 3 syllables (con·trap·tion). It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 36,176th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, contraption means “A machine that is complicated and precarious” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of contraption is contraptions.
How many letters and syllables are in contraption?
| Letters | 11: C-O-N-T-R-A-P-T-I-O-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3: con·trap·tion |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 36,176th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is contraption?
Contraption appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 36,176th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce contraption?
- US /kənˈtɹæp.ʃən/
Contraption has 3 syllables, split con·trap·tion in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-contraption.ogg, En-au-contraption.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of contraption
- contraptions plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does contraption mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A machine that is complicated and precarious.
- 2
derogatoryAny object.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Contraption in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | machin, bidule, engin |
| German | neumodischer Apparat, irres Gerät, seltsame Vorrichtung, Erfindung , Ding, Objekt |
| Portuguese | engenhoca, geringonça |
| Spanish | artilugio, invento, armatoste, mamotreto, armatroste, almatroste |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does contraption come from?
Possibly a Western US English dialectal word of unknown origin. First attested in the early 19th century. Perhaps from contrive + trap + -tion, while also possibly approximating construction. Chambers suggests contrivance + adaption. Neither Chambers nor Concise Oxford suggests a US origin. Compare cantrip, cantrap (Scots dialect), a wilful piece of trickery.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).