tampon

\tɑ̃.pɔ̃\

/\tɑ̃.pɔ̃\/ noun

The verdict

“tampon” is a moderately-common French word, ranked #13,920 in French word frequency and used as a noun.

#13,920
frequency rank, French
6
letters
9
tracked misspellings
7
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Bouchon, morceau de bois, d’étoupe, de papier, etc., servant à boucher un tuyau, une ouverture, une cavité, etc.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

tampon vs Tempo
50% similar
tampon vs timon
67% similar
tampon vs tympan
67% similar

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

Key facts for tampon
PropertyValue
Headwordtampon
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\tɑ̃.pɔ̃\
Letters6
Frequency rank#13,920
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs7
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “tampon” 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). tampon 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 tampon is 6 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \tɑ̃.pɔ̃\. Corpus data places it at rank #13,920 in overall French word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 16 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for tampon, with forms such as "atmpon", "tammpon", and "tamopn". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 7 confusable-pair relationships, "Tempo", "timon", "tympan", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Wiktionary doesn't record an etymology for this headword, so its spelling is easiest to reason about phoneme by phoneme, absent a documented history. The correct French form is tampon, spelled T-A-M-P-O-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    Bouchon, morceau de bois, d’étoupe, de papier, etc., servant à boucher un tuyau, une ouverture, une cavité, etc.
  2. 2
    Bouchon, morceau de bois, d’étoupe, de papier, etc., servant à boucher un tuyau, une ouverture, une cavité, etc.
  3. 3
    Petites masses d’étoffe, d’ouate, de papier, etc., roulées et pressées, qui servent à étancher, à frotter, à imprégner.
  4. 4
    Petites masses d’étoffe, d’ouate, de papier, etc., roulées et pressées, qui servent à étancher, à frotter, à imprégner.
  5. 5
    Bourrelets d’étoffe qui servent soit à vernir un meuble, soit à vernir une planche d’eau-forte soit à la nettoyer, etc.
  6. 6
    Disques métalliques montés sur un ressort, dont chaque wagon est pourvu à ses extrémités et qui servent à amortir les chocs.
  7. 7
    Tout ce qui peut amortir un choc dans l’ordre des relations sociales et politiques. → voir État tampon et zone tampon
  8. 8
    Objet qui sert à marquer quelque chose, soit par transfert d'encre, soit par déformation.
  9. 9
    Objet qui sert à marquer quelque chose, soit par transfert d'encre, soit par déformation.
  10. 10
    Baguette dont l'extrémité est formée par une masse ronde recouverte de cuir et qui sert à battre la grosse caisse.
  11. 11
    Objet cylindrique allongé, à usage unique, en matériau absorbant, destiné à retenir le flux du sang menstruel. Tampon hygiénique, tampon périodique.
  12. 12
    Acte pour un joueur de percuter un joueur adverse, soit en vue d'un plaquage, soit en avançant avec le ballon.
  13. 13
    Substance, ou mélange de substances, qui, par son aptitude à produire ou à consommer une espèce chimique, par exemple un hydron, maintient constante la concentration de cette espèce dans un solvant.
  14. 14
    Casquette plate ainsi nommée par analogie de forme, elle était portée par les soldats-ordonnances avec leur uniforme civil.
  15. 15
    Ordonnance d’un officier (voir article juste au dessus), d’un soldat riche, brosseur.
  16. 16
    Mémoire tampon

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: atmpon,tammpon,tamopn,tampno,tamponn,tamppon,tapmon,tmapon,ttampon

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of tampon - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

atmpon2tammpon1tamopn2tampno2tamponn1tamppon1tapmon2tmapon2
Edit distance from "tampon"

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 "tampon"?
"tampon" is spelled T-A-M-P-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is \tɑ̃.pɔ̃\.
What does "tampon" mean?
As a noun, "tampon" means: Bouchon, morceau de bois, d’étoupe, de papier, etc., servant à boucher un tuyau, une ouverture, une cavité, etc.
What words are commonly confused with "tampon"?
"tampon" is commonly confused with "Tempo", "timon", "tympan". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "tampon"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "tampon" is \tɑ̃.pɔ̃\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "tampon" come from?
"tampon" 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 “tampon”

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

  • The one correct French spelling is T-A-M-P-O-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \tɑ̃.pɔ̃\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “Tempo” - see the side-by-side comparison. tampon vs Tempo
  • 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