culmination

/ˌkʌl.mɪˈneɪ.ʃən/

//ˌkʌl.mɪˈneɪ.ʃən// noun

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

"culmination" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“culmination” has 17 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #20,599. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#20,599
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords
17
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The attainment of the highest point of altitude reached by a heavenly body; passage across the meridian; transit.

Corpus desk

Index EN-culmination · culmination · English

culmination · rank #20,599 · 17 variants · 1 confusable

  • FREQ-MID #20,599
  • LEN-MEGA 11 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 17 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH crouch

Nearest frequency peer: crouch (-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 “culmination”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “culmination” 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).

culmination vs cultivation
82% similar

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

Key facts for culmination
PropertyValue
Headwordculmination
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˌkʌl.mɪˈneɪ.ʃən/
Letters11
Frequency rank#20,599
Misspellings tracked17
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “culmination”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).culminationlands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “crouch” (#20,598), “curing” (#20,600), “convex” (#20,597). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “culmination” is #20,599. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 17 spelling variants around culmination (IPA /ˌkʌl.mɪˈneɪ.ʃən/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #20,599 among 5,599 “C” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 17 likely wrong-spelling variants for culmination, with forms such as "cculmination", "clumination", and "culimnation". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "cultivation", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from French culmination, from culminer, or from Medieval Latin culminatus + -tion. Morphologically culminate + -ion. The correct English form is culmination, spelled C-U-L-M-I-N-A-T-I-O-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    The attainment of the highest point of altitude reached by a heavenly body; passage across the meridian; transit.
  2. 2
    An endpoint arrived at after some series of actions or events, or some period, usually after the series or period has ended. The sum of something.
  3. 3
    An attainment or arrival at the highest pitch of glory, power, etc.
  4. 4
    A ceremony marking the completion of studies at an elementary school, middle school or junior high school.

Etymology

Borrowed from French culmination, from culminer, or from Medieval Latin culminatus + -tion. Morphologically culminate + -ion.

This word in other languages

Gipfelpunkt(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • cculmination
  • clumination
  • culimnation
  • cullmination
  • culmiantion
  • culminaiton
  • culminasion
  • culminatino
  • culminationn
  • culminatoin
  • culminattion
  • culminnation
  • culmintaion
  • culmmination
  • culmniation
  • cumlination
  • uclmination

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

cculmination1clumination2culimnation2cullmination1culmiantion2culminaiton2culminasion1culminatino2
Edit distance from "culmination"

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 "culmination"?
"culmination" is spelled C-U-L-M-I-N-A-T-I-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is /ˌkʌl.mɪˈneɪ.ʃən/.
What does "culmination" mean?
As a noun, "culmination" means: The attainment of the highest point of altitude reached by a heavenly body; passage across the meridian; transit.
What words are commonly confused with "culmination"?
"culmination" is commonly confused with "cultivation". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "culmination"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "culmination" is /ˌkʌl.mɪˈneɪ.ʃən/. 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 "culmination"?
Borrowed from French culmination, from culminer, or from Medieval Latin culminatus + -tion. Morphologically culminate + -ion. 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 "culmination", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 11 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

cleanliness#20,588Chattanooga#20,585electrician#20,622antiquities#20,554

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (17 here; floor ≥5).

domestically17 variantsblacksmith17 variantsstreamlined17 variantsScarborough17 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list