bastion

\bas.tjɔ̃\

/\bas.tjɔ̃\/ noun

The verdict

“bastion” is a moderately-common French word, ranked #14,611 in French word frequency and used as a noun.

#14,611
frequency rank, French
7
letters
10
tracked misspellings
10
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Ouvrage de fortification qui fait partie de l’enceinte du corps d’une place : il présente en saillie deux faces et deux flancs. Il est relié à l’enceinte par ces derniers.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

bastion vs bâton
57% similar
bastion vs boston
71% similar
bastion vs baston
86% similar

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

Key facts for bastion
PropertyValue
Headwordbastion
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\bas.tjɔ̃\
Letters7
Frequency rank#14,611
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs10
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “bastion” sits in French frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). bastion lands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The French entry for bastion is 7 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \bas.tjɔ̃\. Corpus data places it at rank #14,611 in overall French word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 4 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for bastion, with forms such as "abstion", "basiton", and "basstion". 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 10 confusable-pair relationships, "bâton", "boston", "baston", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, so spelling patterns must be inferred from the word's phoneme-to-grapheme mapping rather than from a documented borrowing chain. The correct French form is bastion, spelled B-A-S-T-I-O-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    Ouvrage de fortification qui fait partie de l’enceinte du corps d’une place : il présente en saillie deux faces et deux flancs. Il est relié à l’enceinte par ces derniers.
  2. 2
    Élément géographique avancé.
  3. 3
    Tout ce qui semble inexpugnable.
  4. 4
    Machine du réseau qui fournit un point d’entrée ou de sortie unique vers Internet.

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: abstion,basiton,basstion,bastino,bastionn,bastoin,basttion,batsion,bbastion,bsation

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

abstion2basiton2basstion1bastino2bastionn1bastoin2basttion1batsion2
Edit distance from "bastion"

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 French corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "bastion"?
"bastion" is spelled B-A-S-T-I-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is \bas.tjɔ̃\.
What does "bastion" mean?
As a noun, "bastion" means: Ouvrage de fortification qui fait partie de l’enceinte du corps d’une place : il présente en saillie deux faces et deux flancs. Il est relié à l’enceinte par ces derniers.
What words are commonly confused with "bastion"?
"bastion" is commonly confused with "bâton", "boston", "baston". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "bastion"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "bastion" is \bas.tjɔ̃\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "bastion" come from?
"bastion" is a French word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
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.

Using “bastion”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct French spelling is B-A-S-T-I-O-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \bas.tjɔ̃\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “bâton” - see the side-by-side comparison. bastion vs bâton
  • Browse more French words and confusable pairs in the same reference. French words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list