interception
/ɪntɚˈsɛpʃən/
"interception" is a 12-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“interception” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #16,502 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #16,502
- frequency rank, English
- 12
- letters
- 19
- tracked misspellings
- 5
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - An act of intercepting something, the state of being intercepted, or a thing that is intercepted.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | interception |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ɪntɚˈsɛpʃən/ |
| Letters | 12 |
| Frequency rank | #16,502 |
| Misspellings tracked | 19 |
| Confusable pairs | 5 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “interception” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for interception is 12 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ɪntɚˈsɛpʃən/. Corpus data places it at rank #16,502 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 5 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 19 likely wrong-spelling variants for interception, with forms such as "inetrception", "innterception", and "intecreption". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 5 confusable-pair relationships, "interceptor", "intervention", "intersection", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.
Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Latin interceptiō; compare French interception. The correct English form is interception, spelled I-N-T-E-R-C-E-P-T-I-O-N.
Definition
- 1An act of intercepting something, the state of being intercepted, or a thing that is intercepted.
- 2An aeronautical action in which a fighter approaches a suspicious aircraft to escort it away from a prohibited area, or approaches an enemy aircraft to shoot it down.
- 3A passing play where the ball is caught by the opposing team.
- 4A pass that is intercepted by an opposing player.
- 5precipitation that does not reach the soil, but is instead intercepted by the leaves, branches of plants and the forest floor.
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin interceptiō; compare French interception.
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: inetrception,innterception,intecreption,intercception,intercepiton,intercepption,intercepsion,interceptino,interceptionn,interceptoin,intercepttion,intercetpion,intercpetion,interecption,interrception,intreception,intterception,itnerception,niterception
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of interception - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
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 "interception"?
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Using “interception”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is I-N-T-E-R-C-E-P-T-I-O-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ɪntɚˈsɛpʃən/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “interceptor” - see the side-by-side comparison. interception vs interceptor
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
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.