# section

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈsɛkʃən/ · frequency rank #1,097

## Definitions
1. A cutting; a part cut out from the rest of something.
2. A part, piece, subdivision of anything.
3. A part, piece, subdivision of anything.
4. A part of a document, especially a major part; often notated with §.
5. An act or instance of cutting.
6. A cross-section (image that shows an object as if cut along a plane).
7. A cross-section (image that shows an object as if cut along a plane).
8. A cross-section (image that shows an object as if cut along a plane).
9. A cross-section (image that shows an object as if cut along a plane).
10. A cross-section (image that shows an object as if cut along a plane).
11. An incision or the act of making an incision.
12. An incision or the act of making an incision.
13. thin section, a thin slice of material prepared as a specimen for research.
14. A taxonomic rank below the genus (and subgenus if present), but above the species.
15. An informal taxonomic rank below the order ranks and above the family ranks.
16. A group of 10-15 soldiers led by a non-commissioned officer and forming part of a platoon.
17. A piece of residential land; a plot.
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. The symbol §, denoting a section of a document.
20. A sequence of rock layers.
21. Archeological section; vertical plane and cross-section of the ground to view its profile and stratigraphy; part of an archeological sequence.
22. Angle section, L-section, angle iron, steel angle, slotted angle.
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.

## 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.

## Easily confused with
- **seton** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/section-vs-seton)
- **sector** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/section-vs-sector)
- **sexton** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/section-vs-sexton)
- **station** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/section-vs-station)
- **session** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/section-vs-session)
- **suction** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/section-vs-suction)
- **sedition** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/section-vs-sedition)
- **sedation** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/section-vs-sedation)
- **selection** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/section-vs-selection)
- **sectional** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/section-vs-sectional)
- **seduction** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/section-vs-seduction)
- **scion** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/scion-vs-section)
- **Seaton** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/seaton-vs-section)
- **sanction** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sanction-vs-section)
- **secretion** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/secretion-vs-section)

## Common misspellings (11)
`esction`, `scetion`, `secction`, `seciton`, `secsion`, `sectino`, `sectionn`, `sectoin`, `secttion`, `setcion`, `ssection`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/section