vocation

/voʊˈkeɪʃən/

//voʊˈkeɪʃən// noun

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

"vocation" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“vocation” has 12 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #22,544. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#22,544
frequency rank, English
969
“V” headwords
12
tracked misspellings
4
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A divine calling to establish one's lifestyle.

Corpus desk

Index EN-vocation · vocation · English

vocation · rank #22,544 · 12 variants · 4 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #22,544
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 4 pairs
  • VAR-MID 12 variants
  • BOOK-MID 969
  • PHOTO-FINISH waged

Nearest frequency peer: waged (+2 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 “vocation”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “vocation” 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).

vocation vs volition
75% similar
vocation vs vocational
80% similar
vocation vs vacation
88% similar

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

Key facts for vocation
PropertyValue
Headwordvocation
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/voʊˈkeɪʃən/
Letters8
Frequency rank#22,544
Misspellings tracked12
Confusable pairs4
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “vocation”

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).vocationlands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “waged” (#22,546), “Walden” (#22,547), “unworthy” (#22,540). Among 969 “V” headwords, “vocation” is #22,544. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 12 spelling variants around vocation (IPA /voʊˈkeɪʃən/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #22,544 among 969 “V” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for vocation, with forms such as "ovcation", "vcoation", and "voaction". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 4 confusable-pair relationships, "volition", "vocational", "vacation", 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 vocacioun, from Old French vocation, from Latin vocātiō. The correct English form is vocation, spelled V-O-C-A-T-I-O-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    A divine calling to establish one's lifestyle.
  2. 2
    An occupation for which a person is suited, trained or qualified.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. The Catholic Church supports and teaches us that there are three vocations: the single life, married life, and the religious life or priesthood.
  2. Nursing is a vocation that many people find horrendous.

Etymology

From Middle English vocacioun, from Old French vocation, from Latin vocātiō.

This word in other languages

vocación(Español)vocation(Français)Berufung(Deutsch)vocação(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ovcation
  • vcoation
  • voaction
  • vocaiton
  • vocasion
  • vocatino
  • vocationn
  • vocatoin
  • vocattion
  • voccation
  • voctaion
  • vvocation

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

ovcation2vcoation2voaction2vocaiton2vocasion1vocatino2vocationn1vocatoin2
Edit distance from "vocation"

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 "vocation"?
"vocation" is spelled V-O-C-A-T-I-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is /voʊˈkeɪʃən/.
What does "vocation" mean?
As a noun, "vocation" means: A divine calling to establish one's lifestyle.
What words are commonly confused with "vocation"?
"vocation" is commonly confused with "volition", "vocational", "vacation". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "vocation"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "vocation" is /voʊˈkeɪʃən/. 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 "vocation"?
From Middle English vocacioun, from Old French vocation, from Latin vocātiō. 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 "vocation", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

unworthy#22,540tutoring#22,533Tunisian#22,532topology#22,530

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (12 here; floor ≥5).

Tallahassee12 variantsbackseat12 variantsprimates12 variantsPlatonic12 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list