motion
/ˈməʊ.ʃən/
"motion" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“motion” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #2,545 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #2,545
- frequency rank, English
- 6
- letters
- 9
- tracked misspellings
- 17
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A change whereby something goes from one place to another; a state of progression from one place to another; a change of position with respect to time.
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 | motion |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈməʊ.ʃən/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #2,545 |
| Misspellings tracked | 9 |
| Confusable pairs | 17 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “motion” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for motion is 6 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈməʊ.ʃən/. Corpus data places it at rank #2,545 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 11 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for motion, with forms such as "mmotion", "moiton", and "mosion". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 17 confusable-pair relationships, "moto", "motor", "motto", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.
Etymologically, the entry records: Inherited from Middle English mocioun, mocion, from Anglo-Norman motion, Middle French motion, and their etymon Latin mōtiō (“movement, motion”), related to movēre, from Proto-Indo-European *m(y)ewh₁- (“to move”). The correct English form is motion, spelled M-O-T-I-O-N.
Definition
- 1A change whereby something goes from one place to another; a state of progression from one place to another; a change of position with respect to time.
- 2A parliamentary action to propose something. A similar procedure in any official or business meeting.
- 3An entertainment or show, especially a puppet show.
- 4from κίνησις (kinesis); any change. Traditionally of four types: generation and corruption, alteration, augmentation and diminution, and change of place.
- 5Movement of the mind, desires, or passions; mental act, or impulse to any action; internal activity.
- 6A formal request, oral or written, made to a judge or court of law to obtain an official court ruling or order for a legal action to be taken by, or on behalf of, the movant.
- 7A movement of the bowels; the product of such movement.
- 8Change of pitch in successive sounds, whether in the same part or in groups of parts. (Conjunct motion is that by single degrees of the scale. Contrary motion is when parts move in opposite directions. Disjunct motion is motion by skips. Oblique motion is when one part is stationary while another moves. Similar or direct motion is when parts move in the same direction.)
- 9A puppet, or puppet show.
- 10A piece of moving mechanism, such as on a steam locomotive.
- 11Success; achievements, especially those that others cannot match.
Etymology
Inherited from Middle English mocioun, mocion, from Anglo-Norman motion, Middle French motion, and their etymon Latin mōtiō (“movement, motion”), related to movēre, from Proto-Indo-European *m(y)ewh₁- (“to move”).
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: mmotion,moiton,mosion,motino,motionn,motoin,mottion,mtoion,omtion
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of motion - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.
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
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Using “motion”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is M-O-T-I-O-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈməʊ.ʃən/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “moto” - see the side-by-side comparison. motion vs moto
- 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.