summons

/ˈsʌ.mənz/

//ˈsʌ.mənz// noun

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

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

The verdict

“summons” has 9 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #15,712. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#15,712
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
9
tracked misspellings
8
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A call to do something, especially to come.

Corpus desk

Index EN-summons · summons · English

summons · rank #15,712 · 9 variants · 8 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #15,712
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 8 pairs
  • VAR-MID 9 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH Sutherland

Nearest frequency peer: Sutherland (+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 “summons”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “summons” 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).

summons vs Symons
57% similar
summons vs summon
86% similar
summons vs Simons
57% similar

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

Key facts for summons
PropertyValue
Headwordsummons
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈsʌ.mənz/
Letters7
Frequency rank#15,712
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs8
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “summons”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).summonslands here:

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “Sutherland” (#15,713), “substituted” (#15,710), “swung” (#15,714). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “summons” is #15,712. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 9 spelling variants around summons (IPA /ˈsʌ.mənz/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #15,712 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for summons, with forms such as "smumons", "ssummons", and "summnos". 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 8 confusable-pair relationships, "Symons", "summon", "Simons", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English somouns (“order or command to do something”), borrowed from Old French sumunce (modern French semonce), from Vulgar Latin *summonsa, a noun use of the feminine past participle of summoneō, summonēre (“to summon”). The correct English form is summons, spelled S-U-M-M-O-N-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    A call to do something, especially to come.
  2. 2
    A notice summoning someone to appear in court, as a defendant, juror or witness.
  3. 3
    A demand for surrender.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. He sent to summon the seditious, and to offer pardon[…]; but neither summons nor pardon was any thing regarded.
  2. this summons […] unfit either to dispute or disobey

Etymology

From Middle English somouns (“order or command to do something”), borrowed from Old French sumunce (modern French semonce), from Vulgar Latin *summonsa, a noun use of the feminine past participle of summoneō, summonēre (“to summon”).

Synonyms

citationinvocationsubpoenasummonswrit of summons

This word in other languages

convocatoria(Español)convocation(Français)Aufforderung(Deutsch)convocação(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • smumons
  • ssummons
  • summnos
  • summonns
  • summonss
  • summosn
  • sumomns
  • sumons
  • usmmons

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of summons - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

smumons2ssummons1summnos2summonns1summonss1summosn2sumomns2sumons1
Edit distance from "summons"

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 "summons"?
"summons" is spelled S-U-M-M-O-N-S. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈsʌ.mənz/.
What does "summons" mean?
As a noun, "summons" means: A call to do something, especially to come.
What words are commonly confused with "summons"?
"summons" is commonly confused with "Symons", "summon", "Simons". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "summons"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "summons" is /ˈsʌ.mənz/. 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 "summons"?
From Middle English somouns (“order or command to do something”), borrowed from Old French sumunce (modern French semonce), from Vulgar Latin *summonsa, a noun use of the feminine past participle of summoneō, summonēre (“to summon”). 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 "summons", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

stirred#15,707starved#15,706sobbing#15,704trimmed#15,721

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (9 here; floor ≥5).

vortex9 variantsadvert9 variantsAnaheim9 variantspiston9 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list