traversal

noun

"traversal" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“traversal” is uncommon English (frequency #66,360 among 3,151 “T” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#66,360
frequency rank, English
3,151
“T” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The act of traversing; a crossing.

Corpus desk

Index EN-traversal · traversal · English

traversal · rank #66,360 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #66,360
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,151
  • PHOTO-FINISH towpath

Nearest frequency peer: towpath (-4 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 “traversal”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for traversal
PropertyValue
Headwordtraversal
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters9
Frequency rank#66,360
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “traversal” in English

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).traversalfalls in this rarity band:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “towpath” (#66,356), “torturer” (#66,354), “tormentor” (#66,353). Among 3,151 “T” headwords, “traversal” is #66,360. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

traversal is uncommon English at frequency #66,360 among 3,151 “T” headwords, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

No misspelling variants are generated for traversal in our index, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

Etymologically, the entry records: From traverse + -al. The correct English form is traversal, spelled T-R-A-V-E-R-S-A-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    The act of traversing; a crossing.
  2. 2
    The product or result of traversing.
  3. 3
    The act of following a path or route.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. His traversal of the mountains allowed him a view from the peak.
  2. The Stephenson Locomotive Society (North Western Area) and the Manchester Locomotive Society are co-operating in running a special corridor train, to be worked by an 0-6-0 locomotive of the former Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway, on Saturday, May 12, over a route which includes visits to four historic stations, ascent of the 1 in 27 Werneth Incline, and tr…

Etymology

From traverse + -al.

This word in other languages

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 "traversal"?
"traversal" is spelled T-R-A-V-E-R-S-A-L.
What does "traversal" mean?
As a noun, "traversal" means: The act of traversing; a crossing.
What is the origin of the word "traversal"?
From traverse + -al. 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 "traversal", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list