gumption

/ˈɡʌmpʃən/

//ˈɡʌmpʃən// noun

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

"gumption" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“gumption” is uncommon English (frequency #60,137 among 2,313 “G” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#60,137
frequency rank, English
2,313
“G” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Common sense, initiative, resourcefulness.

Corpus desk

Index EN-gumption · gumption · English

gumption · rank #60,137 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #60,137
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,313
  • PHOTO-FINISH guac

Nearest frequency peer: guac (-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.

Long-tail ranks near “gumption”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “gumption” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for gumption
PropertyValue
Headwordgumption
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈɡʌmpʃən/
Letters8
Frequency rank#60,137
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “gumption” in English

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).gumptionfalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Rare peers in the same band: “guac” (#60,136), “gtd” (#60,135), “Gregoire” (#60,131). Among 2,313 “G” headwords, “gumption” is #60,137. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

gumption is uncommon English at frequency #60,137 among 2,313 “G” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈɡʌmpʃən/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for gumption, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Scots gumption (“common sense, shrewdness; drive, initiative”); further etymology unknown, possibly connected with Middle English gome (“attention, heed”), from Old Norse gaumr (“attention, heed”), from Proto-Germanic *gaumō. English cognates … The correct English form is gumption, spelled G-U-M-P-T-I-O-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    Common sense, initiative, resourcefulness.
  2. 2
    Boldness of enterprise; aggressiveness or initiative.
  3. 3
    Energy of body and mind, enthusiasm.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Gumption, or rum gumption, docility, comprehenſion, capacity.
  2. When I see a man who has a good business, sufficient to support his family respectably, neglecting his affairs, and running into debt, in order to obtain a political office, I fancy that, whatever may be his talents, he is not burdened with gumption. […] When I see a man attending diligently to his own concerns, sending his children to school, paying his…

Etymology

Borrowed from Scots gumption (“common sense, shrewdness; drive, initiative”); further etymology unknown, possibly connected with Middle English gome (“attention, heed”), from Old Norse gaumr (“attention, heed”), from Proto-Germanic *gaumō. English cognates include gaum (“to comprehend, understand”) and goam (“to recognize, see”).

This word in other languages

caletre(Español)Grips(Deutsch)coragem(Português)

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 "gumption"?
"gumption" is spelled G-U-M-P-T-I-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈɡʌmpʃən/.
What does "gumption" mean?
As a noun, "gumption" means: Common sense, initiative, resourcefulness.
How do you pronounce "gumption"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "gumption" is /ˈɡʌmpʃən/. 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 "gumption"?
Borrowed from Scots gumption (“common sense, shrewdness; drive, initiative”); further etymology unknown, possibly connected with Middle English gome (“attention, heed”), from Old Norse gaumr (“attention, heed”), from Proto-Germanic *gaumō. English... 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 "gumption", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Gregoire#60,131greedily#60,130Hargrove#60,144Grampian#60,126

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list