masturbation
mas·tur·ba·tion/ˌmæstɚˈbeɪʃən/noun
masturbation is spelled M-A-S-T-U-R-B-A-T-I-O-N, 4 syllables: mas·tur·ba·tion. The wrong spelling people search most is masterbation: about 0 Bing searches a month in the United States (September 2025 to August 2026). Masturbation is a noun meaning “Sexual stimulation of one's genitalia or other erotic regions, often to the point of orgasm”. The plural of masturbation is masturbations.
How many letters and syllables are in masturbation?
| Letters | 12: M-A-S-T-U-R-B-A-T-I-O-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4: mas·tur·ba·tion |
| In writing | 2.9 times per million words; the 15,798th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | 1; the most searched, masterbation (all of them) |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How do you spell masturbation?
Masturbation is spelled M-A-S-T-U-R-B-A-T-I-O-N. One wrong spelling is searched or written often enough to measure.
Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026). Wrong spellings are taken from Wiktionary entries tagged "misspelling" and its obsolete or nonstandard forms, Wikipedia's Lists of common misspellings and the codespell dictionary, then measured. The proofreader's marks show the change that corrects each one.
How common is masturbation?
Masturbation appears 2.9 times per million words in written English, the 15,798th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce masturbation?
- UK /ˌmæstəˈbeɪʃ(ə)n/
- UK /ˌmɑːstəˈbeɪʃ(ə)n/
- US /ˌmæstɚˈbeɪʃən/
Masturbation has 4 syllables, split mas·tur·ba·tion in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-masturbation.wav, En-us-masturbation.oga, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with masturbation?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as masturbation from its last stressed vowel (/eɪʃən/):
- situation
- association
- population
- administration
- operation
- organization
- application
- location
- generation
- foundation
- conversation
- investigation
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of masturbation
- masturbations plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does masturbation mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Sexual stimulation of one's genitalia or other erotic regions, often to the point of orgasm.
- 2
The stimulation of another person's genitals using the hands.
- 3
derogatoryA vain activity that serves only to provide self-indulgent satisfaction without any practical or external value.
That experimental film was nothing more than intellectual masturbation for the director.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you abbreviate masturbation?
Wiktionary records one abbreviation of masturbation: PMO.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Masturbation in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense manual erotic stimulation of the genitals:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | masturbation, onanisme, manualisation, branlette, crosse |
| German | Masturbation, Onanie, Selbstbefriedigung |
| Portuguese | masturbação, punheta |
| Spanish | masturbación, paja |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does masturbation come from?
Borrowed from French masturbation, New Latin masturbātiō, masturbātiōnem. By surface analysis, masturbat(e) + -ion.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).