convention
/kənˈvɛn.ʃən/noun
convention is spelled C-O-N-V-E-N-T-I-O-N: 10 letters and 3 syllables. It appears 32 times per million words in written English, the 2,992nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, convention means “A meeting or gathering” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of convention is conventions.
How many letters and syllables are in convention?
| Letters | 10: C-O-N-V-E-N-T-I-O-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 32 times per million words; the 2,992nd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is convention?
Convention appears 32 times per million words in written English, the 2,992nd 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 convention?
- UK /kənˈvɛn.ʃən/
- UK /ˌkɒnˈvɛn.ʃən/
Convention has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-convention.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with convention?
3 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as convention from its last stressed vowel (/ɛnʃən/, British pronunciation):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of convention
- conventions plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does convention mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A meeting or gathering.
The convention was held in Geneva.
- 2
A formal deliberative assembly of mandated delegates.
The EU installed an inter-institutional Convention to draft a European constitution.
- 3
The convening of a formal meeting.
- 4
A formal agreement, contract, rule, or pact.
- 5
A treaty or supplement to such.
The Vienna convention at the Vienna Congress (1814-15) standardized most of diplomatic conduct for generations.
- 6
A practice or procedure widely observed in a group, especially to facilitate social interaction; a custom.
Table seatings are generally determined by tacit convention, not binding formal protocol.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Convention in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | convention |
| German | Kongress, Versammlung, Tagung , Abkommen, Vereinbarung , Brauch |
| Portuguese | convenção , tratado |
| Spanish | convención , convenio , costumbre , tratado |
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 convention come from?
Recorded since about 1440, borrowed from Middle French convention, from Latin conventiō (“meeting, assembling; agreement, convention”), from conveniō (“come, gather or meet together, assemble”), from con- (“with, together”) + veniō (“come”). Equivalent to convene + -tion.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).