heptathlon

/hɛpˈtæθlɒn/

//hɛpˈtæθlɒn// noun

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

"heptathlon" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“heptathlon” is uncommon English (frequency #64,420 among 23,837 “H” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#64,420
frequency rank, English
23,837
“H” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - An athletic contest comprising seven events; contested mostly by women, for whom this is an Olympic sport.

Key facts for heptathlon
PropertyValue
Headwordheptathlon
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/hɛpˈtæθlɒn/
Letters10
Frequency rank#64,420
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “heptathlon” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). heptathlon lands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

heptathlon is uncommon English at frequency #64,420 among 23,837 “H” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /hɛpˈtæθlɒn/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "An athletic contest comprising seven events; contested mostly by women, for whom this is an Olympic sport.".

heptathlon has no tracked misspelling variants, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

Etymologically, the entry records: From hepta- + -athlon. The correct English form is heptathlon, spelled H-E-P-T-A-T-H-L-O-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    An athletic contest comprising seven events; contested mostly by women, for whom this is an Olympic sport.

Etymology

From hepta- + -athlon.

This word in other languages

heptathlon(Français)Siebenkampf(Deutsch)

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 "heptathlon"?
"heptathlon" is spelled H-E-P-T-A-T-H-L-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is /hɛpˈtæθlɒn/.
What does "heptathlon" mean?
As a noun, "heptathlon" means: An athletic contest comprising seven events; contested mostly by women, for whom this is an Olympic sport.
How do you pronounce "heptathlon"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "heptathlon" is /hɛpˈtæθlɒn/. 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 "heptathlon"?
From hepta- + -athlon. 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.

Using “heptathlon”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is H-E-P-T-A-T-H-L-O-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /hɛpˈtæθlɒn/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words

Other uncommon English words near this rank

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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list