precaution
pre·cau·tion/pɹiːˈkɔ.ʃən/noun, verb
precaution is spelled P-R-E-C-A-U-T-I-O-N: 10 letters and 3 syllables (pre·cau·tion). It appears 2.5 times per million words in written English, the 17,122nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, precaution means “Previous caution or care; caution previously employed to prevent misfortune or to secure good” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of precaution is precautions.
How many letters and syllables are in precaution?
| Letters | 10: P-R-E-C-A-U-T-I-O-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3: pre·cau·tion |
| In writing | 2.5 times per million words; the 17,122nd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is precaution?
Precaution appears 2.5 times per million words in written English, the 17,122nd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce precaution?
- /pɹiːˈkɔːʃən/
- UK /pɹiːˈkɔː.ʃən/
- US /pɹiːˈkɔ.ʃən/
Precaution has 3 syllables, split pre·cau·tion in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-precaution.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of precaution
- precautions plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- precautioning participle, present
- precautioned participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does precaution mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Previous caution or care; caution previously employed to prevent misfortune or to secure good.
his life was saved by precaution
- 2
A measure taken beforehand to ward off evil or secure good or success; a precautionary act.
to take precautions against risks of accident
verb
- 1
To warn or caution beforehand.
- 2
rareTo take precaution against.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Precaution in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | précaution |
| German | Vorsorge , Vorsichtsmaßnahme |
| Spanish | precaución , precaucionarse |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does precaution come from?
From French précaution, Latin praecautio, from praecavere, praecautum (“to guard against beforehand”); prae (“before”) + cavere (“be on one's guard”). See pre-, and caution.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).