preposition
/ˌpɹɛpəˈzɪʃən/noun
preposition is spelled P-R-E-P-O-S-I-T-I-O-N: 11 letters. It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 45,947th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, preposition means “Any of a class of non-inflecting words and multiword terms typically employed to connect a following noun or a pronoun, in an adjectival or adverbial…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of preposition is prepositions.
How many letters and syllables are in preposition?
| Letters | 11: P-R-E-P-O-S-I-T-I-O-N |
|---|---|
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 45,947th 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 preposition?
Preposition appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 45,947th 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 preposition?
- /ˌpɹɛpəˈzɪʃən/
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-preposition.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with preposition
Also written: pre-position (one word or two).
Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
Forms of preposition
- prepositions plural
- præposition
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does preposition mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Any of a class of non-inflecting words and multiword terms typically employed to connect a following noun or a pronoun, in an adjectival or adverbial sense, with some other word: a particle used with a noun or pronoun (in English always in the objective case) to make a phrase limiting some other word.
- 2
An adposition.
- 3
obsoleteA proposition; an exposition; a discourse.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you abbreviate preposition?
Wiktionary records 2 abbreviations of preposition: prep, prep..
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Preposition in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense grammar: a type of word like "of, from, for, by":
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | préposition |
| German | Präposition, Verhältniswort, Vorwort, Lagewort |
| Portuguese | preposição |
| Spanish | preposición |
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 preposition come from?
From Middle English preposicioun, from Old French preposicion, from Latin praepositio, praepositionem, from praepono (“to place before”), equivalent to pre- + position. Compare French préposition. So called because it is placed before the word with which it is phrased, as in a bridge of iron, he comes from town, it is good for food, he escaped by running.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).