union

/ˈjuː.njən/

//ˈjuː.njən// noun

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

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

The verdict

“union” has 6 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #890. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#890
frequency rank, English
1,433
“U” headwords
6
tracked misspellings
18
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The act of uniting or joining two or more things into one.

Corpus desk

Index EN-union · union · English

union · rank #890 · 6 variants · 18 confusables

  • FREQ-CORE #890
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 18 pairs
  • VAR-MID 6 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,433
  • PHOTO-FINISH super

Nearest frequency peer: super (-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 “union”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “union” 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).

union vs uno
60% similar
union vs upon
60% similar
union vs unit
60% similar

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

Key facts for union
PropertyValue
Headwordunion
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈjuː.njən/
Letters5
Frequency rank#890
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs18
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “union”

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).unionlands here:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “super” (#889), “walk” (#891), “staff” (#888). Among 1,433 “U” headwords, “union” is #890. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 6 spelling variants around union (IPA /ˈjuː.njən/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #890 among 1,433 “U” headwords. Wiktionary lists 12 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for union, with forms such as "nuion", "uinon", and "unino". 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 18 confusable-pair relationships, "uno", "upon", "unit", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English unyoun, from Old French union, from Late Latin ūniō, ūniōnem (“oneness, unity”), from Latin ūnus (“one”). Doublet of unio. The correct English form is union, spelled U-N-I-O-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    The act of uniting or joining two or more things into one.
  2. 2
    The state of being united or joined; a state of unity or harmony.
  3. 3
    Something united, or made one; something formed by a combination or coalition of parts or members; a confederation; a consolidated body; a league.
  4. 4
    A trade union; a workers' union.
  5. 5
    An association of students at a university for social and/or political purposes; also in some cases a debating body.
  6. 6
    A joint or other connection uniting parts of machinery, such as pipes.
  7. 7
    The set containing all of the elements of two or more sets.
  8. 8
    The act or state of marriage.
  9. 9
    Sexual intercourse.
  10. 10
    A data structure that can store any of various types of item, but only one at a time.
  11. 11
    A large, high-quality pearl.
  12. 12
    An affiliation of several parishes for joint support and management of their poor; also the jointly-owned workhouse.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. In the autumn there was a row at some cement works about the unskilled labour men. A union had just been started for them and all but a few joined. One of these blacklegs was laid for by a picket and knocked out of time.
  2. Unions are useful in those cases where you need to keep track of a value that can be represented as different data types during the lifetime of the program.

Etymology

From Middle English unyoun, from Old French union, from Late Latin ūniō, ūniōnem (“oneness, unity”), from Latin ūnus (“one”). Doublet of unio.

This word in other languages

unión(Español)union(Français)Vereinigung(Deutsch)união(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • nuion
  • uinon
  • unino
  • unionn
  • unnion
  • unoin

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

nuion2uinon2unino2unionn1unnion1unoin2
Edit distance from "union"

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 "union"?
"union" is spelled U-N-I-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈjuː.njən/.
What does "union" mean?
As a noun, "union" means: The act of uniting or joining two or more things into one.
What words are commonly confused with "union"?
"union" is commonly confused with "uno", "upon", "unit". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "union"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "union" is /ˈjuː.njən/. 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 "union"?
From Middle English unyoun, from Old French union, from Late Latin ūniō, ūniōnem (“oneness, unity”), from Latin ūnus (“one”). Doublet of unio. 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 "union", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

super#889staff#888began#894built#895

Similar misspelling depth

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

walk6 variantspick6 variantsvoice6 variantsarmy6 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list