possession

/pəˈzɛʃn̩/

//pəˈzɛʃn̩// noun

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

"possession" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“possession” has 12 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #3,777. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#3,777
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords
12
tracked misspellings
3
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 2, 2026) - A control or occupancy of something for which one does not necessarily have private property rights.

Corpus desk

Index EN-possession · possession · English

possession · rank #3,777 · 12 variants · 3 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #3,777
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 3 pairs
  • VAR-MID 12 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH pope

Nearest frequency peer: pope (-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.

Frequency neighbourhood for “possession”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “possession” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 2, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

possession vs possessor
80% similar
possession vs possessive
80% similar
possession vs possessions
91% similar

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

Key facts for possession
PropertyValue
Headwordpossession
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/pəˈzɛʃn̩/
Letters10
Frequency rank#3,777
Misspellings tracked12
Confusable pairs3
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “possession” 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). possession lands here:

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

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

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 12 spelling variants around possession (IPA /pəˈzɛʃn̩/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #3,777 among 4,417 “P” headwords. Wiktionary lists 9 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for possession, with forms such as "opssession", "posession", and "posesssion". 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 3 confusable-pair relationships, "possessor", "possessive", "possessions", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Latin possessiō, possessiōnis. Equivalent to possess + -ion. The correct English form is possession, spelled P-O-S-S-E-S-S-I-O-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    A control or occupancy of something for which one does not necessarily have private property rights.
  2. 2
    Something that is owned.
  3. 3
    An ownership; a taking, a holding, keeping something as one's own.
  4. 4
    A territory under the rule of another country.
  5. 5
    The condition or affliction of being possessed by a demon or other supernatural entity.
  6. 6
    The condition of being under the control of strong emotion or madness.
  7. 7
    A control of the ball; the opportunity to be on the offensive.
  8. 8
    A disposal of the ball during a game, i.e. a kick or a handball.
  9. 9
    A syntactic relationship between two nouns or nominals that may be used to indicate ownership.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Once complete, guide rails will be installed inside the tunnels ready for the box jack itself - which NR intends to push into place during a nine-day engineering possession in September, following a trial push in late August. [...] A small number of weekday and weekend possessions will also be required on June 20-21, September 5-6, and between December 19…
  2. The car quickly became his most prized possession.

Etymology

From Latin possessiō, possessiōnis. Equivalent to possess + -ion.

This word in other languages

posesión(Español)bien(Français)Gut(Deutsch)invasão(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • opssession
  • posession
  • posesssion
  • possesion
  • possesison
  • possessino
  • possessionn
  • possessoin
  • possestion
  • posssesion
  • ppossession
  • psosession

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of possession - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

opssession2posession1posesssion2possesion1possesison2possessino2possessionn1possessoin2
Edit distance from "possession"

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.

PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 2, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "possession"?
"possession" is spelled P-O-S-S-E-S-S-I-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is /pəˈzɛʃn̩/.
What does "possession" mean?
As a noun, "possession" means: A control or occupancy of something for which one does not necessarily have private property rights.
What words are commonly confused with "possession"?
"possession" is commonly confused with "possessor", "possessive", "possessions". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "possession"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "possession" is /pəˈzɛʃn̩/. 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 "possession"?
From Latin possessiō, possessiōnis. Equivalent to possess + -ion. 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 "possession", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 10 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

regulation#3,781maintained#3,768journalist#3,764incredibly#3,761

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (12 here; floor ≥5).

passenger12 variantsresident12 variantssuitable12 variantssciences12 variants

What to do next

You've looked up "possession". Here's where to go from here.

  • "possession" maps to 3 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "possessor". View pair
  • 12 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
  • Usage frequency rank #3,777 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more English words in the "P" letter cohort. P–Z browse

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

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