prescription

/pɹəˈskɹɪp.ʃən/

//pɹəˈskɹɪp.ʃən// noun

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

"prescription" is a 12-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“prescription” has 20 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #7,169. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#7,169
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords
20
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A written order from an authorized medical practitioner for provision of a medicine or other treatment, such as (ophthalmology) the specific lenses needed for a pair of glasses.

Corpus desk

Index EN-prescription · prescription · English

prescription · rank #7,169 · 20 variants · 1 confusable

  • FREQ-COMMON #7,169
  • LEN-MEGA 12 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 20 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH portal

Nearest frequency peer: portal (-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 “prescription”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “prescription” 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).

prescription vs prescriptive
83% similar

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

Key facts for prescription
PropertyValue
Headwordprescription
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/pɹəˈskɹɪp.ʃən/
Letters12
Frequency rank#7,169
Misspellings tracked20
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “prescription”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).prescriptionlands 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 “portal” (#7,168), “pledge” (#7,167), “proving” (#7,171). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “prescription” is #7,169. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 20 spelling variants around prescription (IPA /pɹəˈskɹɪp.ʃən/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #7,169 among 4,417 “P” headwords. Wiktionary lists 8 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 20 likely wrong-spelling variants for prescription, with forms such as "perscription", "pprescription", and "precsription". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "prescriptive", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Middle French, from Old French prescripcion, from Latin praescriptio (“preface; pretext; something written ahead of time”), from prae- (“pre-, before”) + scribere (“to write”) + -tio (“-tion, forming nouns”). Equivalent to prescribe + -tion. The correct English form is prescription, spelled P-R-E-S-C-R-I-P-T-I-O-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    A written order from an authorized medical practitioner for provision of a medicine or other treatment, such as (ophthalmology) the specific lenses needed for a pair of glasses.
  2. 2
    The medicine or treatment provided by such an order.
  3. 3
    Any plan of treatment or handling; the treatment or handling thus provided.
  4. 4
    Synonym of enactment, the act of establishing a law, regulation, etc., particularly in writing; an instance of this.
  5. 5
    The act of establishing or formalizing ideal norms for language use, as opposed to describing the actual norms of such use; an instance of this.
  6. 6
    An established time period within which a right must be exercised and after which it is null and permanently unenforceable.
  7. 7
    An established time period after which a person who has uninterruptedly, peacefully, and publicly used another's property acquires full ownership of it.
  8. 8
    Synonym of self-restraint, limiting of one's actions especially according to a moral code or social conventions.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. The surgeon had written thousands of prescriptions for pain killers without proper examinations before the police raided the clinic.
  2. An old traditional prescription for provoking erotic inclinations ran as follows, The toe of the foot of a man, anointed with oil, or honey, or the ashes of a weasel.

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle French, from Old French prescripcion, from Latin praescriptio (“preface; pretext; something written ahead of time”), from prae- (“pre-, before”) + scribere (“to write”) + -tio (“-tion, forming nouns”). Equivalent to prescribe + -tion.

This word in other languages

receta(Español)ordonnance(Français)Rezept(Deutsch)receita(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • perscription
  • pprescription
  • precsription
  • presccription
  • prescirption
  • prescripiton
  • prescripption
  • prescripsion
  • prescriptino
  • prescriptionn
  • prescriptoin
  • prescripttion
  • prescritpion
  • prescrpition
  • prescrription
  • presrciption
  • presscription
  • prrescription
  • prsecription
  • rpescription

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of prescription - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

perscription2pprescription1precsription2presccription1prescirption2prescripiton2prescripption1prescripsion1
Edit distance from "prescription"

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 "prescription"?
"prescription" is spelled P-R-E-S-C-R-I-P-T-I-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is /pɹəˈskɹɪp.ʃən/.
What does "prescription" mean?
As a noun, "prescription" means: A written order from an authorized medical practitioner for provision of a medicine or other treatment, such as (ophthalmology) the specific lenses needed for a pair of glasses.
What words are commonly confused with "prescription"?
"prescription" is commonly confused with "prescriptive". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "prescription"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "prescription" is /pɹəˈskɹɪp.ʃən/. 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 "prescription"?
Borrowed from Middle French, from Old French prescripcion, from Latin praescriptio (“preface; pretext; something written ahead of time”), from prae- (“pre-, before”) + scribere (“to write”) + -tio (“-tion, forming nouns”). Equivalent to prescribe ... 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 "prescription", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 12 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

entrepreneur#7,219considerably#7,110instrumental#7,239interference#7,241

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (20 here; floor ≥5).

disappointment20 variantscharacterized20 variantscertification20 variantsconfiguration20 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list