selection

/səˈlɛkʃən/

//səˈlɛkʃən// noun

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

"selection" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“selection” has 14 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #2,404. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#2,404
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
14
tracked misspellings
4
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The process or act of selecting.

Corpus desk

Index EN-selection · selection · English

selection · rank #2,404 · 14 variants · 4 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #2,404
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 4 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 14 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH remained

Nearest frequency peer: remained (-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 “selection”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “selection” 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).

selection vs selector
78% similar
selection vs selective
78% similar
selection vs section
78% similar

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

Key facts for selection
PropertyValue
Headwordselection
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/səˈlɛkʃən/
Letters9
Frequency rank#2,404
Misspellings tracked14
Confusable pairs4
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “selection”

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

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “remained” (#2,403), “serving” (#2,405), “pages” (#2,402). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “selection” is #2,404. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 14 spelling variants around selection (IPA /səˈlɛkʃən/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #2,404 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 12 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 14 likely wrong-spelling variants for selection, with forms such as "eslection", "seelction", and "selcetion". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 4 confusable-pair relationships, "selector", "selective", "section", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: Learned borrowing from Latin sēlēctiō (“the act of choosing out, selection”), from sēligō (“choose out, select”), from sē- (“apart”) + legō (“gather, select”). Equivalent to select + -ion. The correct English form is selection, spelled S-E-L-E-C-T-I-O-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    The process or act of selecting.
  2. 2
    Something selected.
  3. 3
    A variety of items taken from a larger collection.
  4. 4
    A musical piece.
  5. 5
    A set of data obtained from a database using a query.
  6. 6
    The ability of predicates to determine the semantic content of their arguments. ᵂᵖ
  7. 7
    A list of items on which user operations will take place. ᵂᵖ
  8. 8
    A unary operation that denotes a subset of a relation.
  9. 9
    The free selection before survey of crown land in some Australian colonies under land legislation introduced in the 1860s. ᵂᵖ
  10. 10
    The free selection before survey of crown land in some Australian colonies under land legislation introduced in the 1860s. ᵂᵖ
  11. 11
    The stage of a genetic algorithm in which individual genomes are chosen from a population for later breeding. ᵂᵖ
  12. 12
    Ellipsis of natural selection.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. The large number of good candidates made selection difficult.
  2. My final selection was a 1934 Chateau Lafite.

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin sēlēctiō (“the act of choosing out, selection”), from sēligō (“choose out, select”), from sē- (“apart”) + legō (“gather, select”). Equivalent to select + -ion.

Synonyms

choiceoptionnumberpiecesubset

This word in other languages

selección(Español)sélection(Français)Auswahl(Deutsch)seleção(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • eslection
  • seelction
  • selcetion
  • selecction
  • seleciton
  • selecsion
  • selectino
  • selectionn
  • selectoin
  • selecttion
  • seletcion
  • sellection
  • sleection
  • sselection

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

eslection2seelction2selcetion2selecction1seleciton2selecsion1selectino2selectionn1
Edit distance from "selection"

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 "selection"?
"selection" is spelled S-E-L-E-C-T-I-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is /səˈlɛkʃən/.
What does "selection" mean?
As a noun, "selection" means: The process or act of selecting.
What words are commonly confused with "selection"?
"selection" is commonly confused with "selector", "selective", "section". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "selection"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "selection" is /səˈlɛkʃən/. 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 "selection"?
Learned borrowing from Latin sēlēctiō (“the act of choosing out, selection”), from sēligō (“choose out, select”), from sē- (“apart”) + legō (“gather, select”). Equivalent to select + -ion. 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 "selection", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

ourselves#2,401typically#2,414estimated#2,388delivered#2,386

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (14 here; floor ≥5).

literature14 variantsbreakfast14 variantsdestroyed14 variantsidentified14 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list