precaution
/pɹiːˈkɔːʃən/
"precaution" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“precaution” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #17,214 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #17,214
- frequency rank, English
- 10
- letters
- 15
- tracked misspellings
- 2
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Previous caution or care; caution previously employed to prevent misfortune or to secure good.
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 | precaution |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /pɹiːˈkɔːʃən/ |
| Letters | 10 |
| Frequency rank | #17,214 |
| Misspellings tracked | 15 |
| Confusable pairs | 2 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “precaution” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for precaution is 10 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /pɹiːˈkɔːʃən/. Corpus data places it at rank #17,214 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 15 likely wrong-spelling variants for precaution, with forms such as "percaution", "pprecaution", and "prceaution". 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 2 confusable-pair relationships, "predation", "precautions", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: From French précaution, Latin praecautio, from praecavere, praecautum (“to guard against beforehand”); prae (“before”) + cavere (“be on one's guard”). See pre-, and caution. The correct English form is precaution, spelled P-R-E-C-A-U-T-I-O-N.
Definition
- 1Previous caution or care; caution previously employed to prevent misfortune or to secure good.
- 2A measure taken beforehand to ward off evil or secure good or success; a precautionary act.
Etymology
From French précaution, Latin praecautio, from praecavere, praecautum (“to guard against beforehand”); prae (“before”) + cavere (“be on one's guard”). See pre-, and caution.
Synonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: percaution,pprecaution,prceaution,preacution,precatuion,precauiton,precausion,precautino,precautionn,precautoin,precauttion,preccaution,precuation,prrecaution,rpecaution
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of precaution - 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.
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 "precaution"?
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Using “precaution”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is P-R-E-C-A-U-T-I-O-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /pɹiːˈkɔːʃən/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “predation” - see the side-by-side comparison. precaution vs predation
- 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.