cannon
/ˈkænən/
nounverb
Common
1.n.a large artillery gun that is usually on wheels
2.n.heavy gun fired from a tank
3.n.(Middle Ages) a cylindrical piece of armor plate to protect the arm
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cannon and canon are homophones: they are pronounced identically and spelled differently, which is why they are so often swapped. cannon means “a large artillery gun that is usually on wheels”. canon means “a rule or especially body of rules or principles generally established as valid and fundamental in a field of art or philosophy”. cannon is the more common of the two in everyday English.
/ˈkænən/
1.n.a large artillery gun that is usually on wheels
2.n.heavy gun fired from a tank
3.n.(Middle Ages) a cylindrical piece of armor plate to protect the arm
| cannon | canon | |
|---|---|---|
| Pronunciation | /ˈkænən/ | /ˈkænən/ |
| Said | KAN-uhn | KAN-uhn |
| Syllables | 2 | 2 |
| Letters | 6 | 5 |
| Parts of speech | noun, verb | noun |
| Senses | 8 | 6 |
| How common | Common | Familiar |
| Synonyms | none recorded | none recorded |
Full entry for cannon · Full entry for canon · More comparisons
/ˈkænən/
1.n.a rule or especially body of rules or principles generally established as valid and fundamental in a field of art or philosophy
“the neoclassical canon”
2.n.a priest who is a member of a cathedral chapter
3.n.a ravine formed by a river in an area with little rainfall