klaxon

/ˈklæksən/

//ˈklæksən// noun

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

"klaxon" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“klaxon” is uncommon English (frequency #86,432 among 1,236 “K” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#86,432
frequency rank, English
1,236
“K” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A loud electric alarm or horn, especially as used in automobiles in the early 20th century.

Corpus desk

Index EN-klaxon · klaxon · English

klaxon · rank #86,432 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #86,432
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,236
  • PHOTO-FINISH kleptocracy

Nearest frequency peer: kleptocracy (+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 “klaxon”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for klaxon
PropertyValue
Headwordklaxon
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈklæksən/
Letters6
Frequency rank#86,432
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “klaxon” in English

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

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Rare peers in the same band: “kleptocracy” (#86,433), “Kipnis” (#86,430), “Koirala” (#86,435). Among 1,236 “K” headwords, “klaxon” is #86,432. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

klaxon is uncommon English at frequency #86,432 among 1,236 “K” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈklæksən/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A loud electric alarm or horn, especially as used in automobiles in the early 20th century.".

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for klaxon, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

Etymologically, the entry records: From the trademark Klaxon, based on Ancient Greek κλάζω (klázō, “make a sharp sound; scream”). The word was coined by Franklyn Hallett Lovell Jr., the founder of the Lovell-McConnell Manufacturing Co. of Newark, New Jersey, USA, which in 1908 obtained a lic… The correct English form is klaxon, spelled K-L-A-X-O-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    A loud electric alarm or horn, especially as used in automobiles in the early 20th century.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. And she went so swiftly that he could only follow her to the door. The large shape of the car swallowed her up; and the car twisted softly around the little drive and away to the London road. Minutes later he heard its Klaxon, just one sharp keen, like the harsh cry of a sea-bird. …
  2. There was a motor car behind them now and it blasted into the truck noise and the dust with its klaxon again and again; then flashed on lights that showed the dust like a solid yellow cloud and surged past them in a whining rise of gears and a demanding, threatening, bludgeoning of klaxoning.

Etymology

From the trademark Klaxon, based on Ancient Greek κλάζω (klázō, “make a sharp sound; scream”). The word was coined by Franklyn Hallett Lovell Jr., the founder of the Lovell-McConnell Manufacturing Co. of Newark, New Jersey, USA, which in 1908 obtained a licence of the patent to the machine generating the sound from American inventor Miller Reese Hutchison (1876–1944).

This word in other languages

bocina(Español)klaxon(Français)Hupe(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 "klaxon"?
"klaxon" is spelled K-L-A-X-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈklæksən/.
What does "klaxon" mean?
As a noun, "klaxon" means: A loud electric alarm or horn, especially as used in automobiles in the early 20th century.
How do you pronounce "klaxon"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "klaxon" is /ˈklæksən/. 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 "klaxon"?
From the trademark Klaxon, based on Ancient Greek κλάζω (klázō, “make a sharp sound; scream”). The word was coined by Franklyn Hallett Lovell Jr., the founder of the Lovell-McConnell Manufacturing Co. of Newark, New Jersey, USA, which in 1908 obta... 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 "klaxon", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Kipnis#86,430Kotlin#86,438Lainey#86,446kantar#86,414

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list