explosion
/ɪkˈspləʊ.ʒən/
"explosion" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“explosion” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #4,944 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #4,944
- frequency rank, English
- 9
- letters
- 14
- tracked misspellings
- 4
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A violent release of energy (sometimes mechanical, nuclear, or chemical); an act or instance of exploding.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | explosion |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ɪkˈspləʊ.ʒən/ |
| Letters | 9 |
| Frequency rank | #4,944 |
| Misspellings tracked | 14 |
| Confusable pairs | 4 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “explosion” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for explosion is 9 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ɪkˈspləʊ.ʒən/. Corpus data places it at rank #4,944 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 14 likely wrong-spelling variants for explosion, with forms such as "epxlosion", "exlposion", and "expllosion". 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 4 confusable-pair relationships, "explosive", "expulsion", "expansion", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: From French explosion, from Latin explōsiōnis, genitive form of explōsio, from explōdo (“to drive out by clapping”), from ex- and plōdo (“to clap or strike”). For more information see explode. The correct English form is explosion, spelled E-X-P-L-O-S-I-O-N.
Definition
- 1A violent release of energy (sometimes mechanical, nuclear, or chemical); an act or instance of exploding.
- 2The sound of an explosion.
- 3A sudden, uncontrolled or rapid increase, expansion, or bursting out.
Etymology
From French explosion, from Latin explōsiōnis, genitive form of explōsio, from explōdo (“to drive out by clapping”), from ex- and plōdo (“to clap or strike”). For more information see explode.
Antonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: epxlosion,exlposion,expllosion,exploison,explosino,explosionn,explosoin,explossion,explotion,explsoion,expolsion,expplosion,exxplosion,xeplosion
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of explosion - 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.
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 "explosion"?
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Using “explosion”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is E-X-P-L-O-S-I-O-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ɪkˈspləʊ.ʒən/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “explosive” - see the side-by-side comparison. explosion vs explosive
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
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.