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elevation

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

Letters

9 characters

Language

English

word origin

Source

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Detailed reference entry for the English word "elevation", 9-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 "elevation" 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 "elevation" for academic writing, checking homophone confusion, or exploring etymological origins, this page provides a citation-backed, free reference that requires no sign-up.

elevation is aEnglishnoun. It means: The act of raising from a lower place, condition, or quality to a higher; said of material things, persons, the mind, the voice, etc. Pronounced /ˌɛlɪˈveɪʃn̩/. It ranks #8,279 in English word frequency. Often confused with elevator and elation.

Key facts for elevation
PropertyValue
Headwordelevation
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˌɛlɪˈveɪʃn̩/
Letters9
Frequency rank#8,279
Misspellings tracked13
Confusable pairs3
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency rank visualization

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

Source: Wordfreq corpus

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for elevation is 9 letters long, classified as anoun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˌɛlɪˈveɪʃn̩/. Corpus data places it at rank #8,279 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text.Wiktionary records 10 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our Hunspell-derived misspelling index lists 13 documented wrong-spelling variants for elevation, with forms such as "eelvation", "eleavtion", and "elevaiton". 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 3 confusable-pair relationships, "elevator", "elation", "election", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Old French elevation, from Latin elevatio, equal to elevate + -ion. 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 elevation, spelled E-L-E-V-A-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 raising from a lower place, condition, or quality to a higher; said of material things, persons, the mind, the voice, etc.
  2. 2
    The condition of being or feeling elevated; heightened; exaltation.
  3. 3
    That which is raised up or elevated; an elevated place or station.
  4. 4
    The distance of a celestial object above the horizon, or the arc of a vertical circle intercepted between it and the horizon; altitude.
  5. 5
    The measured vertical distance from the peak of a mountain or hill to its bordering lowlands.
  6. 6
    The angle which the gnomon makes with the substylar line.
  7. 7
    The movement of the axis of a piece in a vertical plane; also, the angle of elevation, that is, the angle between the axis of the piece and the line of sight; distinguished from direction.
  8. 8
    A geometrical projection of a building, or other object, on a plane perpendicular to the horizon; orthographic projection on a vertical plane; called by the ancients the orthography.
  9. 9
    The raising of the host—representing Christ’s body—in a mass or Holy Communion service.
  10. 10
    An opium mixture used in the Fens to improve the mood and prevent malaria.

Etymology

From Old French elevation, from Latin elevatio, equal to elevate + -ion.

Antonyms

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: eelvation,eleavtion,elevaiton,elevasion,elevatino,elevationn,elevatoin,elevattion,elevtaion,elevvation,ellevation,elveation,leevation

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

Relative frequency of common misspelling types for elevation

Misspelling Variants of "elevation"

eelvation9eleavtion9elevaiton9elevasion9elevatino9elevationn10elevatoin9elevattion10
Misspelling Variants of "elevation"

Frequency rank: #8,279 in English

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "elevation"?
"elevation" is spelled E-L-E-V-A-T-I-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is /ˌɛlɪˈveɪʃn̩/.
What does "elevation" mean?
As a noun, "elevation" means: The act of raising from a lower place, condition, or quality to a higher; said of material things, persons, the mind, the voice, etc.
What words are commonly confused with "elevation"?
"elevation" is commonly confused with "elevator", "elation", "election". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "elevation"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "elevation" is /ˌɛlɪˈveɪʃn̩/. 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 "elevation"?
From Old French elevation, from Latin elevatio, equal to elevate + -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.

Nearby English words

Other entries that begin with the letter E 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.