# inception

> English word · Noun · IPA /ɪnˈsɛpʃən/ · frequency rank #12,077

## Definitions
1. The creation or beginning of something; the establishment.
2. A layering, nesting, or recursion of something within itself.

## Etymology
Late Middle English, borrowed from Latin inceptiō, from inceptus, perfect passive participle of incipiō (“I begin”).
The layering sense derives from the 2010 science fiction film Inception, in which a team of people infiltrate someone’s subconscious mind, proceeding through several layers of dreams with the goal of causing someone to incept an idea.

## Easily confused with
- **infection** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/inception-vs-infection)
- **intention** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/inception-vs-intention)
- **invention** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/inception-vs-invention)
- **injection** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/inception-vs-injection)
- **insertion** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/inception-vs-insertion)
- **ingestion** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/inception-vs-ingestion)

## Common misspellings (14)
`icneption`, `incception`, `incepiton`, `incepption`, `incepsion`, `inceptino`, `inceptionn`, `inceptoin`, `incepttion`, `incetpion`, `incpetion`, `inecption`, `innception`, `niception`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/inception