noon

/nuːn/

//nuːn// noun

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

"noon" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“noon” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #5,988 in English word frequency and used as a noun.

#5,988
frequency rank, English
4
letters
4
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The time of day when the Sun seems to reach its highest point in the sky; solar noon.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

noon vs not
50% similar
noon vs now
50% similar
noon vs nor
50% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for noon
PropertyValue
Headwordnoon
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/nuːn/
Letters4
Frequency rank#5,988
Misspellings tracked4
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “noon” sits in English frequency

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

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for noon is 4 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /nuːn/. Corpus data places it at rank #5,988 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 5 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 4 likely wrong-spelling variants for noon, with forms such as "nnoon", "nono", and "noonn". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "not", "now", "nor", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English noen, none, non, from Old English nōn (“the ninth hour”), from a Germanic borrowing of classical Latin nōna (“ninth hour”) (short for nōna hōra), feminine of nōnus (“ninth”). Cognate with Dutch noen, obsolete German Non, Norwegian non. The correct English form is noon, spelled N-O-O-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    The time of day when the Sun seems to reach its highest point in the sky; solar noon.
  2. 2
    The time of day when the Sun seems to reach its highest point in the sky; solar noon.
  3. 3
    The corresponding time in the middle of the night; midnight.
  4. 4
    The ninth hour of the day counted from sunrise; around three o'clock in the afternoon.
  5. 5
    The highest point; culmination.

Etymology

From Middle English noen, none, non, from Old English nōn (“the ninth hour”), from a Germanic borrowing of classical Latin nōna (“ninth hour”) (short for nōna hōra), feminine of nōnus (“ninth”). Cognate with Dutch noen, obsolete German Non, Norwegian non.

Synonyms

nonesmiddaynonesnoontidetwelvemiddaynoon of nightmidnightcapstoneapex

Antonyms

midnight

This word in other languages

mediodía(Español)midi(Français)Mittag(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: nnoon,nono,noonn,onon

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of noon - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

nnoon1nono2noonn1onon2
Edit distance from "noon"

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 "noon"?
"noon" is spelled N-O-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is /nuːn/.
What does "noon" mean?
As a noun, "noon" means: The time of day when the Sun seems to reach its highest point in the sky; solar noon.
What words are commonly confused with "noon"?
"noon" is commonly confused with "not", "now", "nor". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "noon"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "noon" is /nuːn/. 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 "noon"?
From Middle English noen, none, non, from Old English nōn (“the ninth hour”), from a Germanic borrowing of classical Latin nōna (“ninth hour”) (short for nōna hōra), feminine of nōnus (“ninth”). Cognate with Dutch noen, obsolete German Non, Norweg... 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.

Using “noon”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is N-O-O-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /nuːn/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “not” - see the side-by-side comparison. noon vs not
  • 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list