aldehyde

/ˈæl.dɪ.haɪd/

//ˈæl.dɪ.haɪd// noun

"aldehyde" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“aldehyde” is uncommon English (frequency #55,899 among 3,931 “A” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#55,899
frequency rank, English
3,931
“A” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Any of a large class of reactive organic compounds (R·CHO) having a carbonyl functional group attached to one hydrocarbon radical and a hydrogen atom.

Corpus desk

Index EN-aldehyde · aldehyde · English

aldehyde · rank #55,899 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #55,899
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,931
  • PHOTO-FINISH Alcantara

Nearest frequency peer: Alcantara (-1 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 “aldehyde”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for aldehyde
PropertyValue
Headwordaldehyde
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈæl.dɪ.haɪd/
Letters8
Frequency rank#55,899
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “aldehyde” in English

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).aldehydefalls in this rarity band:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Rare peers in the same band: “Alcantara” (#55,898), “allis” (#55,901), “AIPAC” (#55,895). Among 3,931 “A” headwords, “aldehyde” is #55,899. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

aldehyde is uncommon English at frequency #55,899 among 3,931 “A” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈæl.dɪ.haɪd/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Any of a large class of reactive organic compounds (R·CHO) having a carbonyl functional group attached to one hydrocarbon radical and a hydrogen atom.".

No generated misspelling entries exist for aldehyde in our index, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from German Aldehyd, a contraction of the Latin al(cohol) dehyd(rogenātum). The correct English form is aldehyde, spelled A-L-D-E-H-Y-D-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Any of a large class of reactive organic compounds (R·CHO) having a carbonyl functional group attached to one hydrocarbon radical and a hydrogen atom.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. The air smells of strange, oceanic aldehydes.

Etymology

Borrowed from German Aldehyd, a contraction of the Latin al(cohol) dehyd(rogenātum).

This word in other languages

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 "aldehyde"?
"aldehyde" is spelled A-L-D-E-H-Y-D-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈæl.dɪ.haɪd/.
What does "aldehyde" mean?
As a noun, "aldehyde" means: Any of a large class of reactive organic compounds (R·CHO) having a carbonyl functional group attached to one hydrocarbon radical and a hydrogen atom.
How do you pronounce "aldehyde"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "aldehyde" is /ˈæl.dɪ.haɪd/. 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 "aldehyde"?
Borrowed from German Aldehyd, a contraction of the Latin al(cohol) dehyd(rogenātum). 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 "aldehyde", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list