gabion
/ˈɡeɪ.bi.ən/
"gabion" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“gabion” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 6
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A cylindrical basket or cage of wicker which was filled with earth or stones and used in fortifications and other engineering work (a precursor to the sandbag).
Corpus desk
Index EN-gabion · gabion · English
gabion · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-LONG 6 letters
- VOW-3 3 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "G" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
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.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | gabion |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈɡeɪ.bi.ən/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “gabion” in English
Rare enough to double-check
gabion is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈɡeɪ.bi.ən/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 4 senses are on record.
Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for gabion, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. Our dataset records no confusable match here, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Italian gabbione, augmentative of gabbia (“cage”), itself from Latin cavea (whence also English jail, English cajole), from Latin cavus (whence also English cage, English cave). The correct English form is gabion, spelled G-A-B-I-O-N.
Definition
- 1A cylindrical basket or cage of wicker which was filled with earth or stones and used in fortifications and other engineering work (a precursor to the sandbag).
- 2A woven wire mesh unit, sometimes rectangular, made from a continuous mesh panel and filled with stones sometimes coated with polyvinyl chloride.
- 3A porous metal cylinder filled with stones and used in a variety of civil engineering contexts, especially in the construction of retaining walls, the reinforcing of steep slopes, or in the prevention of erosion in river banks.
- 4A knickknack, objet d'art, curiosity, collectable.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how gabion appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
When our artillery came before the walls of the town, the English within the walls killed some of our men, and several pioneers who were making gabions. And seeing they were so wounded that there was no hope of curing them, their comrades stripped them, and put them still living inside the gabions, which served to fill them up.
Then ſe the bringing of our ordinance / Along the trench into the battery, / VVhere vve vvil haue gabions of ſix foot broad / To ſaue our Cannoniers from muſket ſhot, […]
Etymology
Borrowed from Italian gabbione, augmentative of gabbia (“cage”), itself from Latin cavea (whence also English jail, English cajole), from Latin cavus (whence also English cage, English cave).
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.