summon

/ˈsʌmən/

//ˈsʌmən// verb

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

"summon" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“summon” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #14,031. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#14,031
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
7
tracked misspellings
15
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To call people together; to convene; to convoke.

Corpus desk

Index EN-summon · summon · English

summon · rank #14,031 · 7 variants · 15 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #14,031
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 15 pairs
  • VAR-MID 7 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH suitcase

Nearest frequency peer: suitcase (-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 “summon”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “summon” 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).

summon vs sumo
67% similar
summon vs Sutton
50% similar
summon vs summons
86% similar

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

Key facts for summon
PropertyValue
Headwordsummon
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/ˈsʌmən/
Letters6
Frequency rank#14,031
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs15
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “summon”

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

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “suitcase” (#14,030), “spoiler” (#14,029), “sustaining” (#14,033). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “summon” is #14,031. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 7 spelling variants around summon (IPA /ˈsʌmən/), averb. Corpus frequency is #14,031 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 6 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for summon, with forms such as "smumon", "ssummon", and "summno". 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 15 confusable-pair relationships, "sumo", "Sutton", "summons", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Anglo-Norman somoundre, from Old French sumundre, from Latin summonēre, itself from sub + monēre, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *monéyeti, causative from *men- (“to think”). Compare typologically from the same PIE root mention, Russian помина́ть … The correct English form is summon, spelled S-U-M-M-O-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    To call people together; to convene; to convoke.
  2. 2
    To ask someone to come; to send for.
  3. 3
    To order (goods) and have delivered
  4. 4
    To rouse oneself to exert a skill.
  5. 5
    To call a resource by magic.
  6. 6
    To summons; convene.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Silence is primary, summoning presence to itself; so it's a connection to the realm of origin.
  2. The cousins separated, and Nain Singh joined a caravan posing as a merchant. This time he crossed the border successfully. Singh eventually entered Jih-k’a-tse, the second-largest city in Tibet. It was in Jih-k’a-tse that he was summoned to meet the country’s second-highest religious authority, the Panchen Lama, who turned out to be only 11 years old.

Etymology

From Anglo-Norman somoundre, from Old French sumundre, from Latin summonēre, itself from sub + monēre, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *monéyeti, causative from *men- (“to think”). Compare typologically from the same PIE root mention, Russian помина́ть (pominátʹ), упомина́ть (upominátʹ) (developed less further, keeping strong relation with по́мнить (pómnitʹ)), also compare помина́й как зва́ли (pomináj kak zváli) (<+ звать (zvatʹ)).

This word in other languages

convocar(Español)convoquer(Français)zusammenrufen(Deutsch)convocar(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • smumon
  • ssummon
  • summno
  • summonn
  • sumomn
  • sumon
  • usmmon

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of summon - 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.

smumon2ssummon1summno2summonn1sumomn2sumon1usmmon2
Edit distance from "summon"

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 "summon"?
"summon" is spelled S-U-M-M-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈsʌmən/.
What does "summon" mean?
As a verb, "summon" means: To call people together; to convene; to convoke.
What words are commonly confused with "summon"?
"summon" is commonly confused with "sumo", "Sutton", "summons". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "summon"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "summon" is /ˈsʌmən/. 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 "summon"?
From Anglo-Norman somoundre, from Old French sumundre, from Latin summonēre, itself from sub + monēre, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *monéyeti, causative from *men- (“to think”). Compare typologically from the same PIE root mention, Russian ... 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 "summon", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

tavern#14,034spices#14,026sitcom#14,022Ulster#14,041

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (7 here; floor ≥5).

vibes7 variantssedan7 variantsZelda7 variantsdagger7 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list