acetaldehyde

/ˌæs.ɪˈtæl.dəˌhaɪd/

//ˌæs.ɪˈtæl.dəˌhaɪd// noun

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

"acetaldehyde" is a 12-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“acetaldehyde” is uncommon English (frequency #76,508 among 3,931 “A” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#76,508
frequency rank, English
3,931
“A” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A colourless organic compound, CH₃CHO, occurring widely in nature and being produced on a large scale in industry.

Corpus desk

Index EN-acetaldehyde · acetaldehyde · English

acetaldehyde · rank #76,508 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #76,508
  • LEN-MEGA 12 letters
  • VOW-6 6 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,931
  • PHOTO-FINISH Adachi

Nearest frequency peer: Adachi (+2 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Long-tail ranks near “acetaldehyde”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “acetaldehyde” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for acetaldehyde
PropertyValue
Headwordacetaldehyde
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˌæs.ɪˈtæl.dəˌhaɪd/
Letters12
Frequency rank#76,508
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “acetaldehyde” in English

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).acetaldehydefalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Rare peers in the same band: “Adachi” (#76,510), “adjoined” (#76,512), “ahistorical” (#76,517). Among 3,931 “A” headwords, “acetaldehyde” is #76,508. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

acetaldehyde is uncommon English at frequency #76,508 among 3,931 “A” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˌæs.ɪˈtæl.dəˌhaɪd/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A colourless organic compound, CH₃CHO, occurring widely in nature and being produced on a large scale in industry.".

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for acetaldehyde, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

Etymologically, the entry records: From acet- + aldehyde. The correct English form is acetaldehyde, spelled A-C-E-T-A-L-D-E-H-Y-D-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A colourless organic compound, CH₃CHO, occurring widely in nature and being produced on a large scale in industry.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

These source excerpts show how acetaldehyde appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. When you have a drink, your body turns the ethanol that’s present in the alcoholic beverage into a “really nasty substance” called acetaldehyde, which can damage your DNA, said Timothy Stockwell, an alcohol researcher at the University of Victoria in Canada.

Etymology

From acet- + aldehyde.

This word in other languages

acetaldehído(Español)acétaldéhyde(Français)Acetaldehyd(Deutsch)

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 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "acetaldehyde"?
"acetaldehyde" is spelled A-C-E-T-A-L-D-E-H-Y-D-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˌæs.ɪˈtæl.dəˌhaɪd/.
What does "acetaldehyde" mean?
As a noun, "acetaldehyde" means: A colourless organic compound, CH₃CHO, occurring widely in nature and being produced on a large scale in industry.
How do you pronounce "acetaldehyde"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "acetaldehyde" is /ˌæs.ɪˈtæl.dəˌhaɪd/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "acetaldehyde"?
From acet- + aldehyde. See the full etymology section above for more details.
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.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "acetaldehyde", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 12 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

alliterative#76,523arthroplasty#76,543uncultivated#76,424collectivity#76,655

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list