interception

\ɛ̃.tɛʁ.sɛp.sjɔ̃\

/\ɛ̃.tɛʁ.sɛp.sjɔ̃\/ noun

The verdict

“interception” is a moderately-common French word, ranked #22,904 in French word frequency and used as a noun.

#22,904
frequency rank, French
12
letters
18
tracked misspellings
5
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Action d’intercepter ou résultat de cette action.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

interception vs intervention
83% similar
interception vs interruption
83% similar
interception vs intersection
83% similar

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

Key facts for interception
PropertyValue
Headwordinterception
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\ɛ̃.tɛʁ.sɛp.sjɔ̃\
Letters12
Frequency rank#22,904
Misspellings tracked18
Confusable pairs5
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “interception” 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). interception 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 interception is 12 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \ɛ̃.tɛʁ.sɛp.sjɔ̃\. Corpus data places it at rank #22,904 in overall French word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "Action d’intercepter ou résultat de cette action.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 18 likely wrong-spelling variants for interception, with forms such as "inetrception", "innterception", and "intecreption". 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 5 confusable-pair relationships, "intervention", "interruption", "intersection", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

This entry carries no recorded etymology, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct French form is interception, spelled I-N-T-E-R-C-E-P-T-I-O-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    Action d’intercepter ou résultat de cette action.

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: inetrception,innterception,intecreption,intercception,intercepiton,intercepption,interceptino,interceptionn,interceptoin,intercepttion,intercetpion,intercpetion,interecption,interrception,intreception,intterception,itnerception,niterception

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

inetrception2innterception1intecreption2intercception1intercepiton2intercepption1interceptino2interceptionn1
Edit distance from "interception"

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 "interception"?
"interception" is spelled I-N-T-E-R-C-E-P-T-I-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is \ɛ̃.tɛʁ.sɛp.sjɔ̃\.
What does "interception" mean?
As a noun, "interception" means: Action d’intercepter ou résultat de cette action.
What words are commonly confused with "interception"?
"interception" is commonly confused with "intervention", "interruption", "intersection". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "interception"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "interception" is \ɛ̃.tɛʁ.sɛp.sjɔ̃\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "interception" come from?
"interception" 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 “interception”

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

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