ampicillin
/ˌæm.pɪˈsɪl.ɪn/
"ampicillin" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“ampicillin” is uncommon English (frequency #70,452 among 3,931 “A” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #70,452
- frequency rank, English
- 3,931
- “A” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A semisynthetic form of penicillin C₁₆H₁₉N₃O₄S that is effective against gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria and is used to treat infections of the urinary, respiratory, and intestinal tracts.
Corpus desk
Index EN-ampicillin · ampicillin · English
ampicillin · rank #70,452 · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-RARE #70,452
- LEN-MEGA 10 letters
- VOW-4 4 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-MID 3,931
- PHOTO-FINISH amici
Nearest frequency peer: amici (-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 “ampicillin”
Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter
- amadou
amadou
29,552 corpus weight
- ambassadori…
ambassadorial
29,551 corpus weight
- amici
amici
29,550 corpus weight
- ampicillin
ampicillin
29,549 corpus weight
- andante
andante
29,548 corpus weight
- animatronics
animatronics
29,546 corpus weight
What this shows Long-tail view: where “ampicillin” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | ampicillin |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˌæm.pɪˈsɪl.ɪn/ |
| Letters | 10 |
| Frequency rank | #70,452 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “ampicillin” in English
Rare enough to double-check
ampicillin is uncommon English at frequency #70,452 among 3,931 “A” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˌæm.pɪˈsɪl.ɪn/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A semisynthetic form of penicillin C₁₆H₁₉N₃O₄S that is effective against gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria and is used to treat infections of the urinary, respiratory, and intestinal tracts.".
We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for ampicillin, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.
Etymologically, the entry records: From am(ino)- + p(en)icillin. The correct English form is ampicillin, spelled A-M-P-I-C-I-L-L-I-N.
Definition
- 1A semisynthetic form of penicillin C₁₆H₁₉N₃O₄S that is effective against gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria and is used to treat infections of the urinary, respiratory, and intestinal tracts.
Etymology
From am(ino)- + p(en)icillin.
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
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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "ampicillin", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 10 letters (nearest by frequency rank).