platoon

/pləˈtuːn/

//pləˈtuːn// noun

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

"platoon" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“platoon” has 10 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #14,614. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#14,614
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords
10
tracked misspellings
6
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A unit of thirty to forty soldiers typically commanded by a lieutenant and forming part of a company.

Corpus desk

Index EN-platoon · platoon · English

platoon · rank #14,614 · 10 variants · 6 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #14,614
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 6 pairs
  • VAR-MID 10 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH piracy

Nearest frequency peer: piracy (-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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “platoon”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “platoon” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

platoon vs pontoon
71% similar
platoon vs platoons
88% similar
platoon vs Plato
57% similar

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

Key facts for platoon
PropertyValue
Headwordplatoon
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/pləˈtuːn/
Letters7
Frequency rank#14,614
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs6
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “platoon”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).platoonlands here:

#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. Same rarity band neighbours include “piracy” (#14,613), “practise” (#14,615), “pep” (#14,612). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “platoon” is #14,614. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 10 spelling variants around platoon (IPA /pləˈtuːn/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #14,614 among 4,417 “P” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for platoon, with forms such as "lpatoon", "paltoon", and "plaoton". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 6 confusable-pair relationships, "pontoon", "platoons", "Plato", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From obsolete French plauton, variant of peloton, from Middle French pelote + -on. Doublet of peloton. Compare pellet. The correct English form is platoon, spelled P-L-A-T-O-O-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    A unit of thirty to forty soldiers typically commanded by a lieutenant and forming part of a company.
  2. 2
    A subdivision of a fire company, led by a captain or lieutenant.
  3. 3
    A group of self-driving vehicles travelling in a close convoy and communicating electronically with each other.
  4. 4
    A group of children in the platoon grouping education system.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. Needless to say, one's seat must be booked in advance and a platoon of urbane officials, one to each door of the train, awaits passengers to usher them to their seats and relieve them of their bulkier baggage.

Etymology

From obsolete French plauton, variant of peloton, from Middle French pelote + -on. Doublet of peloton. Compare pellet.

This word in other languages

pelotón(Español)peloton(Français)Zug(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • lpatoon
  • paltoon
  • plaoton
  • platon
  • platono
  • platoonn
  • plattoon
  • pllatoon
  • pltaoon
  • pplatoon

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

lpatoon2paltoon2plaoton2platon1platono2platoonn1plattoon1pllatoon1
Edit distance from "platoon"

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 "platoon"?
"platoon" is spelled P-L-A-T-O-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is /pləˈtuːn/.
What does "platoon" mean?
As a noun, "platoon" means: A unit of thirty to forty soldiers typically commanded by a lieutenant and forming part of a company.
What words are commonly confused with "platoon"?
"platoon" is commonly confused with "pontoon", "platoons", "Plato". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "platoon"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "platoon" is /pləˈtuːn/. 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 "platoon"?
From obsolete French plauton, variant of peloton, from Middle French pelote + -on. Doublet of peloton. Compare pellet. 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 "platoon", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

presses#14,616peanuts#14,611outward#14,603oranges#14,602

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (10 here; floor ≥5).

notions10 variantstsunami10 variantsturmoil10 variantstyranny10 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list