# percussion

> English word · Noun · IPA /pɚˈkʌʃən/ · frequency rank #17,920

## Definitions
1. The collision of two bodies in order to produce a sound.
2. The sound so produced.
3. The detonation of a percussion cap in a firearm.
4. The tapping of the body as an aid to medical diagnosis.
5. The section of an orchestra or band containing percussion instruments; such instruments considered as a group; in bands, may be separate from drum kits.
6. The repeated striking of an object to break or shape it, as in percussion drilling.
7. The outer side of the hand.

## Etymology
From Middle English percussioun, from Middle French, Old French percussion, from Latin percussiō (“striking”), from percutiō (“I strike”).

## Easily confused with
- **perfusion** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/percussion-vs-perfusion)
- **permission** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/percussion-vs-permission)
- **persuasion** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/percussion-vs-persuasion)
- **percussive** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/percussion-vs-percussive)

## Common misspellings (14)
`eprcussion`, `pecrussion`, `perccussion`, `percsusion`, `percusion`, `percusison`, `percussino`, `percussionn`, `percussoin`, `percustion`, `perrcussion`, `perucssion`, `ppercussion`, `precussion`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/percussion