talon

/ˈtælən/

//ˈtælən// noun

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

"talon" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“talon” has 6 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #30,254. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#30,254
frequency rank, English
3,151
“T” headwords
6
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A sharp, hooked claw of a bird of prey or other predatory animal.

Corpus desk

Index EN-talon · talon · English

talon · rank #30,254 · 6 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #30,254
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 6 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,151
  • PHOTO-FINISH talkative

Nearest frequency peer: talkative (-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 “talon”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “talon” 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).

talon vs ton
60% similar
talon vs tan
60% similar
talon vs tao
60% similar

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

Key facts for talon
PropertyValue
Headwordtalon
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈtælən/
Letters5
Frequency rank#30,254
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “talon”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).talonlands 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 “talkative” (#30,253), “teleport” (#30,255), “symbolically” (#30,251). Among 3,151 “T” headwords, “talon” is #30,254. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 6 spelling variants around talon (IPA /ˈtælən/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #30,254 among 3,151 “T” headwords. Wiktionary lists 6 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for talon, with forms such as "tallon", "talno", and "talonn". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "ton", "tan", "tao", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English talon, taloun, from Old French talon (“heel, spur”), from Medieval Latin tālōnem, from Proto-Romance *tālōnis, from Latin tālus (“ankle”). The correct English form is talon, spelled T-A-L-O-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    A sharp, hooked claw of a bird of prey or other predatory animal.
  2. 2
    One of certain small prominences on the hind part of the face of an elephant's tooth.
  3. 3
    A kind of moulding, concave at the bottom and convex at the top; an ogee. (When the concave part is at the top, it is called an inverted talon.)
  4. 4
    The shoulder of the bolt of a lock on which the key acts to shoot the bolt.
  5. 5
    The remaining stock of undealt cards.
  6. 6
    A document that could be detached and presented in exchange for a block of further coupons on a bond, when the original block had been used up.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. and now doth gaſtly death With greedie talients gripe my bleeding hart, And like a Harpye tires on my life.
  2. It may be tried also whether birds may not have something done to them when they are young , whereby they may be made to have greater or longer bills , or greater and longer talons ?

Etymology

From Middle English talon, taloun, from Old French talon (“heel, spur”), from Medieval Latin tālōnem, from Proto-Romance *tālōnis, from Latin tālus (“ankle”).

Synonyms

fang

This word in other languages

garra(Español)serre(Français)Klaue(Deutsch)garra(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • tallon
  • talno
  • talonn
  • taoln
  • tlaon
  • ttalon

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

tallon1talno2talonn1taoln2tlaon2ttalon1
Edit distance from "talon"

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 "talon"?
"talon" is spelled T-A-L-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈtælən/.
What does "talon" mean?
As a noun, "talon" means: A sharp, hooked claw of a bird of prey or other predatory animal.
What words are commonly confused with "talon"?
"talon" is commonly confused with "ton", "tan", "tao". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "talon"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "talon" is /ˈtælən/. 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 "talon"?
From Middle English talon, taloun, from Old French talon (“heel, spur”), from Medieval Latin tālōnem, from Proto-Romance *tālōnis, from Latin tālus (“ankle”). 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 "talon", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

thump#30,261snows#30,234waite#30,281scour#30,216

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (6 here; floor ≥5).

Armin6 variantsPerl6 variantscaddy6 variantsodors6 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list