recreation
/ˌɹɛkɹiˈeɪʃən/noun
recreation is spelled R-E-C-R-E-A-T-I-O-N: 10 letters and 4 syllables. It appears 11 times per million words in written English, the 6,674th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, recreation means “Any activity, such as play, that amuses, diverts or stimulates” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of recreation is recreations.
How many letters and syllables are in recreation?
| Letters | 10: R-E-C-R-E-A-T-I-O-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 11 times per million words; the 6,674th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Pairs people search | |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is recreation?
Recreation appears 11 times per million words in written English, the 6,674th 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 recreation?
- UK /(ˌ)ɹɛkɹiˈeɪʃən/
- US /ˌɹɛkɹiˈeɪʃən/
As a noun (“The process of creating something again”): /ɹiːkɹiˈeɪʃən/, /ɹiːkɹiˈeɪʃən/.
Recreation has 4 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-recreation_(fun).wav, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-recreation_(recreate).wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with recreation
Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).
Also written: re-creation (one word or two).
Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with recreation?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as recreation from its last stressed vowel (/eɪʃən/):
- situation
- association
- population
- administration
- operation
- organization
- application
- location
- generation
- foundation
- conversation
- investigation
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of recreation
- recreations plural
- re-creation
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does recreation mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Any activity, such as play, that amuses, diverts or stimulates.
- 2
The process of creating something again.
- 3
The result of this process.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you abbreviate recreation?
Wiktionary records one abbreviation of recreation: rec.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Recreation in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | récréation , recréation |
| German | Erholung, Unterhaltung |
| Portuguese | recreação , recriação |
| Spanish | recreación |
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 recreation come from?
From Middle English recreacion, from Middle French recreacion, from Old French recreacion, from Latin recreātiō.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).