collation

\kɔ.la.sjɔ̃\

/\kɔ.la.sjɔ̃\/ noun

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

The verdict

“collation” is a moderately-common French word, ranked #25,933 in French word frequency and used as a noun.

#25,933
frequency rank, French
9
letters
11
tracked misspellings
7
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Repas léger que les catholiques font les jours de jeûne pour remplacer le souper, et par extension, un repas léger pris au cours de la journée.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

collation vs cotation
78% similar
collation vs collision
78% similar
collation vs collusion
78% similar

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

Key facts for collation
PropertyValue
Headwordcollation
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\kɔ.la.sjɔ̃\
Letters9
Frequency rank#25,933
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs7
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “collation” 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). collation 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 collation is 9 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \kɔ.la.sjɔ̃\. Corpus data places it at rank #25,933 in overall French word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 7 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for collation, with forms such as "ccollation", "clolation", and "colaltion". 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 7 confusable-pair relationships, "cotation", "collision", "collusion", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Our source data has no etymology on file for this entry, so its spelling is easiest to reason about phoneme by phoneme, absent a documented history. The correct French form is collation, spelled C-O-L-L-A-T-I-O-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    Repas léger que les catholiques font les jours de jeûne pour remplacer le souper, et par extension, un repas léger pris au cours de la journée.
  2. 2
    Repas léger qu’on fait dans l’après-dîner à l’occasion d’une cérémonie, d’une chasse, etc.
  3. 3
    N'importe quelle espèce de repas léger, pris à n'importe quelle heure du jour ou de la nuit, et dans toutes sortes d'occasions.
  4. 4
    Action, droit de conférer à quelqu’un des grades universitaires.
  5. 5
    Droit de conférer un bénéfice ecclésiastique.
  6. 6
    Action de collationner ou résultat de cette action.
  7. 7
    Ordre prescrit ou une spécification donnée déterminant la manière d’agencer une liste de chaînes de caractères, action d’agencer selon un tel ordre, ou encore résultat de cette action.

Synonyms

mérandeinterclassement

This word in other languages

collation(English)colación(Español)Imbiss(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: ccollation,clolation,colaltion,colation,collaiton,collatino,collationn,collatoin,collattion,colltaion,ocllation

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

ccollation1clolation2colaltion2colation1collaiton2collatino2collationn1collatoin2
Edit distance from "collation"

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 "collation"?
"collation" is spelled C-O-L-L-A-T-I-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is \kɔ.la.sjɔ̃\.
What does "collation" mean?
As a noun, "collation" means: Repas léger que les catholiques font les jours de jeûne pour remplacer le souper, et par extension, un repas léger pris au cours de la journée.
What words are commonly confused with "collation"?
"collation" is commonly confused with "cotation", "collision", "collusion". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "collation"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "collation" is \kɔ.la.sjɔ̃\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "collation" come from?
"collation" is a French word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
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 “collation”

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

  • The one correct French spelling is C-O-L-L-A-T-I-O-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \kɔ.la.sjɔ̃\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “cotation” - see the side-by-side comparison. collation vs cotation
  • 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