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segment

Definition, pronunciation, etymology, and usage for the English word. Free spelling reference powered by Wiktionary.

Letters

7 characters

Language

English

word origin

Source

Wiktionary

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Detailed reference entry for the English word "segment", 7-letters, with pronunciation in International Phonetic Alphabet notation, etymology traced through Germanic and Romance roots where applicable, common misspelling variants catalogued from Hunspell error dictionaries, and usage frequency ranked against the top 100,000 English words in the Wordfreq corpus. PlainSpell covers English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German spelling with confusable-pair detection that highlights visually and phonetically similar words. This entry for "segment" includes synonyms, antonyms, homophones, and cross-language translation pointers sourced from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org extract. Whether you are verifying the correct spelling of "segment" for academic writing, checking homophone confusion, or exploring etymological origins, this page provides a citation-backed, free reference that requires no sign-up.

segment is aEnglishnoun. It means: A length of some object. Pronounced /ˈsɛɡ.mənt/. It ranks #4,633 in English word frequency. Often confused with semen and serpent.

Key facts for segment
PropertyValue
Headwordsegment
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈsɛɡ.mənt/
Letters7
Frequency rank#4,633
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs4
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency rank visualization

Position of segment in English word frequency (lower rank = more common)

Source: Wordfreq corpus

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for segment is 7 letters long, classified as anoun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈsɛɡ.mənt/. Corpus data places it at rank #4,633 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text.Wiktionary records 13 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our Hunspell-derived misspelling index lists 11 documented wrong-spelling variants for segment, with forms such as "esgment", "segemnt", and "seggment". Each variant represents a distinct typo pattern that appears often enough in corpora to be worth flagging, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution.It also participates in 4 confusable-pair relationships, "semen", "serpent", "seamen", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Latin segmentum (“a piece cut off, a strip, segment of the earth, a strip of tinsel”), from secāre (“to cut”). Root origin matters for spelling because borrowed morphemes (Greek, Latin, Old French, Old English) carry their source-language orthographic conventions into modern English, which is why historical etymology is often the cleanest predictor of whether a cluster like "-ough", "-eau", or "-tion" will appear. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct English form is segment, spelled S-E-G-M-E-N-T, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

Definition

  1. 1
    A length of some object.
  2. 2
    One of the parts into which any body naturally separates or is divided; a part divided or cut off; a section; a portion.
  3. 3
    A portion.
  4. 4
    A portion.
  5. 5
    A portion.
  6. 6
    A portion.
  7. 7
    A portion.
  8. 8
    A portion.
  9. 9
    A portion.
  10. 10
    A part of a broadcast program, devoted to a topic.
  11. 11
    An Ethernet bus.
  12. 12
    A region of memory or a fragment of an executable file designated to contain a particular part of a program.
  13. 13
    A portion of an itinerary: it may be a flight or train between two cities, or a car or hotel booked in a particular city.

Etymology

From Latin segmentum (“a piece cut off, a strip, segment of the earth, a strip of tinsel”), from secāre (“to cut”).

Synonyms

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: esgment,segemnt,seggment,segmennt,segmentt,segmetn,segmment,segmnet,semgent,sgement,ssegment

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

Relative frequency of common misspelling types for segment

Misspelling Variants of "segment"

esgment7segemnt7seggment8segmennt8segmentt8segmetn7segmment8segmnet7
Misspelling Variants of "segment"

Frequency rank: #4,633 in English

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "segment"?
"segment" is spelled S-E-G-M-E-N-T. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈsɛɡ.mənt/.
What does "segment" mean?
As a noun, "segment" means: A length of some object.
What words are commonly confused with "segment"?
"segment" is commonly confused with "semen", "serpent", "seamen". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "segment"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "segment" is /ˈsɛɡ.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 "segment"?
From Latin segmentum (“a piece cut off, a strip, segment of the earth, a strip of tinsel”), from secāre (“to cut”). 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.

Nearby English words

Other entries that begin with the letter S in our English index:

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Data Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Frequency data from Wordfreq. Misspellings derived from Hunspell dictionaries.