rotation
/ɹoʊˈteɪʃən/
"rotation" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“rotation” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #6,293 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #6,293
- frequency rank, English
- 8
- letters
- 12
- tracked misspellings
- 5
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The act of turning around a centre or an axis.
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 | rotation |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ɹoʊˈteɪʃən/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #6,293 |
| Misspellings tracked | 12 |
| Confusable pairs | 5 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “rotation” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for rotation is 8 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ɹoʊˈteɪʃən/. Corpus data places it at rank #6,293 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 8 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for rotation, with forms such as "ortation", "roattion", and "rotaiton". 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 5 confusable-pair relationships, "rotator", "rotational", "ration", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.
Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Latin rotatiō. By surface analysis, rotate + -ion. The correct English form is rotation, spelled R-O-T-A-T-I-O-N.
Definition
- 1The act of turning around a centre or an axis.
- 2A single complete cycle around a centre or an axis.
- 3A regular variation in a sequence, such as to even out wear, or people taking turns in a task; a duty roster.
- 4Тhe movement of investments between different sectors of an economy, or styles of investing, based on anticipated changes in the economic or market cycle.
- 5An operation on a metric space that is a continuous isometry and fixes at least one point.
- 6The set of starting pitchers of a team.
- 7The step during takeoff when the pilot commands the vehicle to lift the nose wheel off the ground during the takeoff roll. (see also: V2)
- 8Repeated play of songs on a radio station, advertisements on a television channel, etc.
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin rotatiō. By surface analysis, rotate + -ion.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: ortation,roattion,rotaiton,rotasion,rotatino,rotationn,rotatoin,rotattion,rottaion,rottation,rrotation,rtoation
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of rotation - 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.
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 "rotation"?
What does "rotation" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "rotation"?
How do you pronounce "rotation"?
What is the origin of the word "rotation"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “rotation”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is R-O-T-A-T-I-O-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ɹoʊˈteɪʃən/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “rotator” - see the side-by-side comparison. rotation vs rotator
- 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.