section

/ˈsɛkʃən/

//ˈsɛkʃən// noun

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

"section" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“section” has 11 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #1,097. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#1,097
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
11
tracked misspellings
15
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A cutting; a part cut out from the rest of something.

Corpus desk

Index EN-section · section · English

section · rank #1,097 · 11 variants · 15 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #1,097
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 15 pairs
  • VAR-MID 11 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH reported

Nearest frequency peer: reported (-1 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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “section”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “section” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

section vs seton
71% similar
section vs sector
71% similar
section vs sexton
71% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for section
PropertyValue
Headwordsection
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈsɛkʃən/
Letters7
Frequency rank#1,097
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs15
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “section”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).sectionlands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “reported” (#1,096), “sort” (#1,098), “region” (#1,095). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “section” is #1,097. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 11 spelling variants around section (IPA /ˈsɛkʃən/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #1,097 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 23 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for section, with forms such as "esction", "scetion", and "secction". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 15 confusable-pair relationships, "seton", "sector", "sexton", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English seccioun, from Old French section, from Latin sectiō (“cutting, cutting off, excision, amputation of diseased parts of the body, etc.”), from sectus, past participle of secāre (“to cut”). More at saw. The correct English form is section, spelled S-E-C-T-I-O-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    A cutting; a part cut out from the rest of something.
  2. 2
    A part, piece, subdivision of anything.
  3. 3
    A part, piece, subdivision of anything.
  4. 4
    A part of a document, especially a major part; often notated with §.
  5. 5
    An act or instance of cutting.
  6. 6
    A cross-section (image that shows an object as if cut along a plane).
  7. 7
    A cross-section (image that shows an object as if cut along a plane).
  8. 8
    A cross-section (image that shows an object as if cut along a plane).
  9. 9
    A cross-section (image that shows an object as if cut along a plane).
  10. 10
    A cross-section (image that shows an object as if cut along a plane).
  11. 11
    An incision or the act of making an incision.
  12. 12
    An incision or the act of making an incision.
  13. 13
    thin section, a thin slice of material prepared as a specimen for research.
  14. 14
    A taxonomic rank below the genus (and subgenus if present), but above the species.
  15. 15
    An informal taxonomic rank below the order ranks and above the family ranks.
  16. 16
    A group of 10-15 soldiers led by a non-commissioned officer and forming part of a platoon.
  17. 17
    A piece of residential land; a plot.
  18. 18
    Synonym of square mile, a unit of land area, especially in the contexts of Canadian surveys and American land grants and legal property descriptions.
  19. 19
    The symbol §, denoting a section of a document.
  20. 20
    A sequence of rock layers.
  21. 21
    Archeological section; vertical plane and cross-section of the ground to view its profile and stratigraphy; part of an archeological sequence.
  22. 22
    Angle section, L-section, angle iron, steel angle, slotted angle.
  23. 23
    A class in a school; a group of students in a regularly scheduled meeting with a teacher in a certain school year or semester or school quarter year.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Seeing the British establishment struggle with the financial sector is like watching an alcoholic […]. Until 2008 there was denial over what finance had become. […] But the scandals kept coming, and so we entered stage three – what therapists call "bargaining". A broad section of the political class now recognises the need for change but remains unable to…
  2. The horn section is the group of symphonic musicians who play the French horn.

Etymology

From Middle English seccioun, from Old French section, from Latin sectiō (“cutting, cutting off, excision, amputation of diseased parts of the body, etc.”), from sectus, past participle of secāre (“to cut”). More at saw.

Synonyms

sectiocuttingslicedivisionpartslicepiecesnippet

Antonyms

whole

This word in other languages

sección(Español)section(Français)Abschnitt(Deutsch)seção(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • esction
  • scetion
  • secction
  • seciton
  • secsion
  • sectino
  • sectionn
  • sectoin
  • secttion
  • setcion
  • ssection

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

esction2scetion2secction1seciton2secsion1sectino2sectionn1sectoin2
Edit distance from "section"

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 "section"?
"section" is spelled S-E-C-T-I-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈsɛkʃən/.
What does "section" mean?
As a noun, "section" means: A cutting; a part cut out from the rest of something.
What words are commonly confused with "section"?
"section" is commonly confused with "seton", "sector", "sexton". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "section"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "section" is /ˈsɛkʃən/. 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 "section"?
From Middle English seccioun, from Old French section, from Latin sectiō (“cutting, cutting off, excision, amputation of diseased parts of the body, etc.”), from sectus, past participle of secāre (“to cut”). More at saw. 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 "section", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

quickly#1,094contact#1,102message#1,089leading#1,087

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (11 here; floor ≥5).

previous11 variantspositive11 variantshusband11 variantscontent11 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list