session

/ˈsɛ.ʃən/

//ˈsɛ.ʃən// noun

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

The verdict

“session” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #1,966 in English word frequency and used as a noun.

#1,966
frequency rank, English
7
letters
9
tracked misspellings
4
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A period of time devoted to a particular activity.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

session vs sessions
88% similar
session vs season
71% similar
session vs section
71% similar

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

Key facts for session
PropertyValue
Headwordsession
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈsɛ.ʃən/
Letters7
Frequency rank#1,966
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs4
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “session” sits in English frequency

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

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for session is 7 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈsɛ.ʃən/. Corpus data places it at rank #1,966 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 9 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for session, with forms such as "esssion", "sesion", and "sesison". 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 4 confusable-pair relationships, "sessions", "season", "section", 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 session, from Old French session, from Latin sessiō (“a sitting”), from sedeō (“sit”). The correct English form is session, spelled S-E-S-S-I-O-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    A period of time devoted to a particular activity.
  2. 2
    An official meeting or term of a council, court, or other body to conduct its business; e.g. the annual or semiannual periods of a legislature (that together comprise the legislative term), whose individual meetings are also called sessions.
  3. 3
    The sequence of interactions between client and server, or between user and system; the period during which a user is logged in or connected.
  4. 4
    Any of the three scheduled two-hour playing sessions, from the start of play to lunch, from lunch to tea and from tea to the close of play.
  5. 5
    The act of sitting, or the state of being seated.
  6. 6
    Ellipsis of jam session, used in isolate particularly for folk music.
  7. 7
    An academic term; semester; school year.
  8. 8
    An extended period of drinking, typically consuming beer with low alcohol content.
  9. 9
    The ruling body of a congregation, consisting of the pastor and elders.

Etymology

From Middle English session, from Old French session, from Latin sessiō (“a sitting”), from sedeō (“sit”).

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: esssion,sesion,sesison,sessino,sessionn,sessoin,sestion,ssesion,ssession

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of session - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

esssion2sesion1sesison2sessino2sessionn1sessoin2sestion1ssesion2
Edit distance from "session"

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 "session"?
"session" is spelled S-E-S-S-I-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈsɛ.ʃən/.
What does "session" mean?
As a noun, "session" means: A period of time devoted to a particular activity.
What words are commonly confused with "session"?
"session" is commonly confused with "sessions", "season", "section". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "session"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "session" is /ˈsɛ.ʃən/. 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 "session"?
From Middle English session, from Old French session, from Latin sessiō (“a sitting”), from sedeō (“sit”). 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.

Using “session”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is S-E-S-S-I-O-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /ˈsɛ.ʃən/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “sessions” - see the side-by-side comparison. session vs sessions
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list