territoriality

/tɛɹɪtɔːɹɪˈalɪti/

//tɛɹɪtɔːɹɪˈalɪti// noun

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

"territoriality" is a 14-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“territoriality” is uncommon English (frequency #94,330 among 3,151 “T” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#94,330
frequency rank, English
3,151
“T” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The fact or legal status of being a territory.

Corpus desk

Index EN-territoriality · territoriality · English

territoriality · rank #94,330 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #94,330
  • LEN-MEGA 14 letters
  • VOW-7 7 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,151
  • PHOTO-FINISH tetrahydrocan…

Nearest frequency peer: tetrahydrocannabinol (+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.

Long-tail ranks near “territoriality”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “territoriality” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for territoriality
PropertyValue
Headwordterritoriality
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/tɛɹɪtɔːɹɪˈalɪti/
Letters14
Frequency rank#94,330
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “territoriality” in English

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).territorialityfalls in this rarity band:

#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. Rare peers in the same band: “tetrahydrocannabinol” (#94,331), “temperamentally” (#94,328), “tetralogy” (#94,332). Among 3,151 “T” headwords, “territoriality” is #94,330. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

territoriality is uncommon English at frequency #94,330 among 3,151 “T” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /tɛɹɪtɔːɹɪˈalɪti/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

Zero misspellings are on record for territoriality in our index, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

Etymologically, the entry records: From territorial + -ity. The correct English form is territoriality, spelled T-E-R-R-I-T-O-R-I-A-L-I-T-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    The fact or legal status of being a territory.
  2. 2
    The pattern of behaviour in animals that defines and defends a territory.
  3. 3
    A pattern of human behaviour characterised by defence of a particular territory or area of interest.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. These criticisms had a whiff of territoriality about them.

Etymology

From territorial + -ity.

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 "territoriality"?
"territoriality" is spelled T-E-R-R-I-T-O-R-I-A-L-I-T-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /tɛɹɪtɔːɹɪˈalɪti/.
What does "territoriality" mean?
As a noun, "territoriality" means: The fact or legal status of being a territory.
How do you pronounce "territoriality"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "territoriality" is /tɛɹɪtɔːɹɪˈalɪti/. 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 "territoriality"?
From territorial + -ity. 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 "territoriality", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 14 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

spatiotemporal#94,276propagandistic#94,147noncommutative#94,055entertainingly#94,834

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list