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prostitution

Definition, pronunciation, etymology, and usage for the English word. Free spelling reference powered by Wiktionary.

Detailed reference entry for the English word "prostitution", 12-letters, with pronunciation in International Phonetic Alphabet notation, etymology traced through Germanic and Romance roots where applicable, common misspelling variants catalogued from Wiktionary, and usage frequency ranked against an open word-frequency list covering the top 100,000 English words. PlainSpell covers English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German spelling with confusable-pair detection that highlights visually and phonetically similar words. This entry for "prostitution" includes synonyms, antonyms, homophones, and cross-language translation pointers sourced from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org extract. Whether you are verifying the correct spelling of "prostitution" for academic writing, checking homophone confusion, or exploring etymological origins, this page provides a citation-backed, free reference that requires no sign-up.

The verdict

“prostitution” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #10,914 in English word frequency and used as a noun.

#10,914
frequency rank, English
12
letters
19
tracked misspellings

Dominant Wiktionary sense: Engaging in sexual activity with another person for pay.

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Key facts for prostitution
PropertyValue
Headwordprostitution
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˌprɒstɪˈt͡ʃuːʃn/
Letters12
Frequency rank#10,914
Misspellings tracked19
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “prostitution” 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). prostitution lands here:

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

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

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for prostitution is 12 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˌprɒstɪˈt͡ʃuːʃn/. Corpus data places it at rank #10,914 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 19 likely wrong-spelling variants for prostitution, with forms such as "porstitution", "pprostitution", and "prosittution". 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 is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Late Latin prostitutio. Equivalent to prostitute + -ion. Root origin matters for spelling because borrowed morphemes (Greek, Latin, Old French, Old English) carry their source-language orthographic conventions into modern English, which is why historical etymology is often the cleanest predictor of whether a cluster like "-ough", "-eau", or "-tion" will appear. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct English form is prostitution, spelled P-R-O-S-T-I-T-U-T-I-O-N, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

Definition

  1. 1
    Engaging in sexual activity with another person for pay.
  2. 2
    Engaging in sexual activity with another person in exchange for goods (not necessarily money) or services.
  3. 3
    Debasement for profit or impure motives.

Etymology

From Late Latin prostitutio. Equivalent to prostitute + -ion.

Synonyms

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: porstitution,pprostitution,prosittution,prosstitution,prostittuion,prostittution,prostituiton,prostitusion,prostitutino,prostitutionn,prostitutoin,prostituttion,prostiuttion,prosttitution,prosttiution,protsitution,prrostitution,prsotitution,rpostitution

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of prostitution — measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

Edit distance from "prostitution"

porstitution2pprostitution1prosittution2prosstitution1prostittuion2prostittution1prostituiton2prostitusion1
Edit distance from "prostitution"

Frequency rank: #10,914 in English

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "prostitution"?
"prostitution" is spelled P-R-O-S-T-I-T-U-T-I-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is /ˌprɒstɪˈt͡ʃuːʃn/.
What does "prostitution" mean?
As a noun, "prostitution" means: Engaging in sexual activity with another person for pay.
What are common misspellings of "prostitution"?
Common misspellings include "porstitution", "pprostitution", "prosittution", "prosstitution", "prostittuion". The correct spelling is "prostitution".
How do you pronounce "prostitution"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "prostitution" is /ˌprɒstɪˈt͡ʃuːʃn/. 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 "prostitution"?
From Late Latin prostitutio. Equivalent to prostitute + -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.

Using “prostitution”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is P-R-O-S-T-I-T-U-T-I-O-N — every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /ˌprɒstɪˈt͡ʃuːʃn/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words

Nearby English words

Other entries that begin with the letter P in our English index:

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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.