departure

/dɪˈpɑː(ɹ)tjə(ɹ)/

//dɪˈpɑː(ɹ)tjə(ɹ)// noun

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

"departure" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“departure” has 13 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #4,937. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#4,937
frequency rank, English
3,470
“D” headwords
13
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The act of departing or something that has departed.

Corpus desk

Index EN-departure · departure · English

departure · rank #4,937 · 13 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #4,937
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 13 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,470
  • PHOTO-FINISH demonstrated

Nearest frequency peer: demonstrated (-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.

Frequency neighbourhood for “departure”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “departure” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for departure
PropertyValue
Headworddeparture
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/dɪˈpɑː(ɹ)tjə(ɹ)/
Letters9
Frequency rank#4,937
Misspellings tracked13
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “departure” sits in English frequency

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).departurelands 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 “demonstrated” (#4,936), “developers” (#4,938), “delete” (#4,935). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 13 spelling variants around departure (IPA /dɪˈpɑː(ɹ)tjə(ɹ)/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #4,937 among 3,470 “D” headwords. Wiktionary lists 7 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 13 likely wrong-spelling variants for departure, with forms such as "ddeparture", "deaprture", and "deparrture". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Old French deporteure (“departure; figuratively, death”). By surface analysis, depart + -ure. The correct English form is departure, spelled D-E-P-A-R-T-U-R-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    The act of departing or something that has departed.
  2. 2
    A deviation from a plan or procedure.
  3. 3
    A death.
  4. 4
    The distance due east or west made by a ship in its course reckoned in plane sailing as the product of the distance sailed and the sine of the angle made by the course with the meridian.
  5. 5
    The difference in easting between the two ends of a line or curve.
  6. 6
    The desertion by a party to any pleading of the ground taken by him in his last antecedent pleading, and the adoption of another
  7. 7
    Division; separation; putting away.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. The departure was scheduled for noon.
  2. The departure was not unduly prolonged. In the road Mr. Love and the driver favoured the company with a brief chanty running: “Got it?—No, I ain't, 'old on,—Got it? Got it?—No, 'old on sir.”

Etymology

From Old French deporteure (“departure; figuratively, death”). By surface analysis, depart + -ure.

Synonyms

leavingexit

Antonyms

arrival

This word in other languages

salida(Español)départ(Français)Abfahrt(Deutsch)partida(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ddeparture
  • deaprture
  • deparrture
  • departrue
  • departture
  • departuer
  • departurre
  • deparutre
  • depatrure
  • depparture
  • deprature
  • dpearture
  • edparture

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of departure - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

ddeparture1deaprture2deparrture1departrue2departture1departuer2departurre1deparutre2
Edit distance from "departure"

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 "departure"?
"departure" is spelled D-E-P-A-R-T-U-R-E. The IPA pronunciation is /dɪˈpɑː(ɹ)tjə(ɹ)/.
What does "departure" mean?
As a noun, "departure" means: The act of departing or something that has departed.
What are common misspellings of "departure"?
Common misspellings include "ddeparture", "deaprture", "deparrture", "departrue", "departture". The correct spelling is "departure".
How do you pronounce "departure"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "departure" is /dɪˈpɑː(ɹ)tjə(ɹ)/. 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 "departure"?
From Old French deporteure (“departure; figuratively, death”). By surface analysis, depart + -ure. 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 "departure", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

competing#4,931explosion#4,944Charlotte#4,926cancelled#4,925

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (13 here; floor ≥5).

Baltimore13 variantsArgentina13 variantssyndrome13 variantssocialist13 variants

What to do next

You've looked up "departure". Here's where to go from here.

  • 13 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
  • Usage frequency rank #4,937 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more English words in the "D" letter cohort. D–Z browse
  • PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list