porte-avions

\pɔʁ.t‿a.vjɔ̃\

/\pɔʁ.t‿a.vjɔ̃\/ noun

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

The verdict

“porte-avions” is uncommon French (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency French
12
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Bateau de guerre destiné à transporter des avions et à leur permettre de prendre leur envol et de se poser.

Key facts for porte-avions
PropertyValue
Headwordporte-avions
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\pɔʁ.t‿a.vjɔ̃\
Letters12
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “porte-avions” sits in French frequency

porte-avions falls outside the top-100,000 ranked French words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

porte-avions is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed \pɔʁ.t‿a.vjɔ̃\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for porte-avions, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

No borrowing history is documented for this entry, so its spelling is easiest to reason about phoneme by phoneme, absent a documented history. The correct French form is porte-avions, spelled P-O-R-T-E---A-V-I-O-N-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    Bateau de guerre destiné à transporter des avions et à leur permettre de prendre leur envol et de se poser.
  2. 2
    Qui est conçu pour transporter des avions et permettre leurs décollages et atterrissages.

Synonyms

porte-aéronefs

This word in other languages

aircraft carrier(English)portaviones(Español)Flugzeugträger(Deutsch)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "porte-avions"?
"porte-avions" is spelled P-O-R-T-E---A-V-I-O-N-S. The IPA pronunciation is \pɔʁ.t‿a.vjɔ̃\.
What does "porte-avions" mean?
As a noun, "porte-avions" means: Bateau de guerre destiné à transporter des avions et à leur permettre de prendre leur envol et de se poser.
How do you pronounce "porte-avions"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "porte-avions" is \pɔʁ.t‿a.vjɔ̃\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "porte-avions" come from?
"porte-avions" 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 “porte-avions”

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

  • The one correct French spelling is P-O-R-T-E---A-V-I-O-N-S - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \pɔʁ.t‿a.vjɔ̃\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • 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