reduction
/ɹɪˈdʌk.ʃən/
"reduction" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“reduction” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #3,716 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #3,716
- frequency rank, English
- 9
- letters
- 14
- tracked misspellings
- 4
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The act, process, or result of reducing.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | reduction |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ɹɪˈdʌk.ʃən/ |
| Letters | 9 |
| Frequency rank | #3,716 |
| Misspellings tracked | 14 |
| Confusable pairs | 4 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “reduction” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for reduction is 9 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ɹɪˈdʌk.ʃən/. Corpus data places it at rank #3,716 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 12 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 14 likely wrong-spelling variants for reduction, with forms such as "erduction", "rdeuction", and "redcution". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 4 confusable-pair relationships, "rejection", "resection", "reductive", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English reduccion, a borrowing from Old French reducion, from Latin reductiō, reductiōnem. Equivalent to reduce + -tion. The correct English form is reduction, spelled R-E-D-U-C-T-I-O-N.
Definition
- 1The act, process, or result of reducing.
- 2The amount or rate by which something is reduced, e.g. in price.
- 3A reaction in which electrons are gained and valence is reduced; often by the removal of oxygen or the addition of hydrogen.
- 4The process of rapidly boiling a sauce to concentrate it.
- 5The rewriting of an expression into a simpler form.
- 6A transformation of one problem into another problem, such as mapping reduction or polynomial-time reduction.
- 7An arrangement for a far smaller number of parties, e.g. a keyboard solo based on a full opera.
- 8A philosophical procedure intended to reveal the objects of consciousness as pure phenomena. (See phenomenological reduction.)
- 9A medical procedure to restore a fracture or dislocation to the correct alignment, usually with a closed approach but sometimes with an open approach (surgery).
- 10A reduced price of something by a fraction or decimal.
- 11The ratio of a material's change in thickness compared to its thickness prior to forging and/or rolling.
- 12A religious settlement created during a mission by Spanish or Portuguese colonists with the intent of evangelizing Christianity to the local population.
Etymology
From Middle English reduccion, a borrowing from Old French reducion, from Latin reductiō, reductiōnem. Equivalent to reduce + -tion.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: erduction,rdeuction,redcution,redduction,reducction,reduciton,reducsion,reductino,reductionn,reductoin,reducttion,redutcion,reudction,rreduction
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of reduction - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.
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 "reduction"?
What does "reduction" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "reduction"?
How do you pronounce "reduction"?
What is the origin of the word "reduction"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “reduction”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is R-E-D-U-C-T-I-O-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ɹɪˈdʌk.ʃən/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “rejection” - see the side-by-side comparison. reduction vs rejection
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
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.