secondment

/səˈkɒn(d)mənt/

//səˈkɒn(d)mənt// noun

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

"secondment" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“secondment” is uncommon English (frequency #79,044 among 6,566 “S” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#79,044
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The process or state of being seconded, the temporary transfer of a person from their normal duty to another assignment.

Corpus desk

Index EN-secondment · secondment · English

secondment · rank #79,044 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #79,044
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH sere

Nearest frequency peer: sere (+2 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.

Frequency neighbourhood for “secondment”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “secondment” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for secondment
PropertyValue
Headwordsecondment
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/səˈkɒn(d)mənt/
Letters10
Frequency rank#79,044
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “secondment” sits in English frequency

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).secondmentlands here:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “sere” (#79,046), “Scaife” (#79,039), “Sapienza” (#79,038). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

secondment is uncommon English at frequency #79,044 among 6,566 “S” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /səˈkɒn(d)mənt/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "The process or state of being seconded, the temporary transfer of a person from their normal duty to another assignment.".

secondment doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: From second + -ment. The correct English form is secondment, spelled S-E-C-O-N-D-M-E-N-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    The process or state of being seconded, the temporary transfer of a person from their normal duty to another assignment.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. Currently on secondment as the Contract Delivery Manager for Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire, Kate is responsible for 210 members of staff - including train drivers, ground staff and frontline operational managers.

Etymology

From second + -ment.

This word in other languages

détachement(Français)Abordnung(Deutsch)

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 "secondment"?
"secondment" is spelled S-E-C-O-N-D-M-E-N-T. The IPA pronunciation is /səˈkɒn(d)mənt/.
What does "secondment" mean?
As a noun, "secondment" means: The process or state of being seconded, the temporary transfer of a person from their normal duty to another assignment.
How do you pronounce "secondment"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "secondment" is /səˈkɒn(d)mənt/. 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 "secondment"?
From second + -ment. 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 "secondment", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 10 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

shuttering#79,057reproached#79,007ransacking#78,985quirkiness#78,976

What to do next

You've looked up "secondment". Here's where to go from here.

  • Usage frequency rank #79,044 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more English words in the "S" letter cohort. S–Z browse
  • PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list