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exposition

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

Letters

10 characters

Language

English

word origin

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Detailed reference entry for the English word "exposition", 10-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 "exposition" 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 "exposition" for academic writing, checking homophone confusion, or exploring etymological origins, this page provides a citation-backed, free reference that requires no sign-up.

exposition is aEnglishnoun. It means: The action of exposing something to something, such as skin to the sunlight. Pronounced /ɛkspəˈzɪʃən/. Often confused with expedition.

Key facts for exposition
PropertyValue
Headwordexposition
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ɛkspəˈzɪʃən/
Letters10
Frequency rank#13,146
Misspellings tracked15
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency rank visualization

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

Source: Wordfreq corpus

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for exposition is 10 letters long, classified as anoun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ɛkspəˈzɪʃən/. Corpus data places it at rank #13,146 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it.Wiktionary records 8 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our Hunspell-derived misspelling index lists 15 documented wrong-spelling variants for exposition, with forms such as "epxosition", "exopsition", and "expoistion". 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 1 confusable-pair relationship, "expedition", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English exposicioun, from Old French esposicion, from Latin expositiō, from expōnere (“to put forth”). The sense meaning "exhibition" is a later semantic loan from French exposition. 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 exposition, spelled E-X-P-O-S-I-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 action of exposing something to something, such as skin to the sunlight.
  2. 2
    The act or process of declaring or describing something through either speech or writing, in nonfiction or in fiction; the portions and aspects of a piece of writing that exist mainly to describe or explain a set of things (such as, in fiction, the setting, characters and other non-plot elements).
  3. 3
    The act of expulsion, or being expelled, from a place.
  4. 4
    An exhibition, especially of goods, artwork or cultural displays to the public.
  5. 5
    An essay or speech in which any topic is discussed in detail.
  6. 6
    An opening section in fiction, in which background information about the characters, events or setting is conveyed.
  7. 7
    The opening section of a movement in sonata form; the opening section of a fugue.
  8. 8
    The abandonment of an unwanted child.

Etymology

From Middle English exposicioun, from Old French esposicion, from Latin expositiō, from expōnere (“to put forth”). The sense meaning "exhibition" is a later semantic loan from French exposition.

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: epxosition,exopsition,expoistion,exposiiton,exposision,expositino,expositionn,expositoin,exposittion,expossition,expostiion,expposition,expsoition,exxposition,xeposition

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

Relative frequency of common misspelling types for exposition

Misspelling Variants of "exposition"

epxosition10exopsition10expoistion10exposiiton10exposision10expositino10expositionn11expositoin10
Misspelling Variants of "exposition"

Frequency rank: #13,146 in English

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "exposition"?
"exposition" is spelled E-X-P-O-S-I-T-I-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is /ɛkspəˈzɪʃən/.
What does "exposition" mean?
As a noun, "exposition" means: The action of exposing something to something, such as skin to the sunlight.
What words are commonly confused with "exposition"?
"exposition" is commonly confused with "expedition". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "exposition"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "exposition" is /ɛkspəˈzɪʃən/. 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 "exposition"?
From Middle English exposicioun, from Old French esposicion, from Latin expositiō, from expōnere (“to put forth”). The sense meaning "exhibition" is a later semantic loan from French exposition. 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.