areola

/əˈɹi.ə.lə/

//əˈɹi.ə.lə// noun

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

"areola" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“areola” is uncommon English (frequency #62,679 among 3,931 “A” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#62,679
frequency rank, English
3,931
“A” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The circular, darkly pigmented area surrounding a nipple; the areola mammae.

Corpus desk

Index EN-areola · areola · English

areola · rank #62,679 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #62,679
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,931
  • PHOTO-FINISH applejack

Nearest frequency peer: applejack (-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 “areola”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for areola
PropertyValue
Headwordareola
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/əˈɹi.ə.lə/
Letters6
Frequency rank#62,679
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “areola” 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).areolafalls 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: “applejack” (#62,677), “armrest” (#62,681), “antiquary” (#62,676). Among 3,931 “A” headwords, “areola” is #62,679. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

areola is uncommon English at frequency #62,679 among 3,931 “A” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /əˈɹi.ə.lə/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 5 senses are on record.

No misspelling variants are generated for areola in our index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Latin āreola (“small vacant space, garden”), diminutive of ārea. Doublet of areole. The correct English form is areola, spelled A-R-E-O-L-A.

Definition

  1. 1
    The circular, darkly pigmented area surrounding a nipple; the areola mammae.
  2. 2
    Any small circular area that is different from its immediate environment, such as the colored ring around the pupil of the eye (iris) or an inflamed region surrounding a pimple.
  3. 3
    Any of the small spaces throughout areolar connective tissue.
  4. 4
    Any of the small spaces between fibres of the tissues of certain lichens.
  5. 5
    Small patches, bearing the spines and glochids characteristic of the stems of cacti.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Working with the Personal Genome Project, she has collected measurements and images of the areolas of 150 people so far. One initial finding is that the diameter of the areola seems unrelated to the number of areola glands — the small bumps in the skin surrounding the nipple.
  2. The tubes or elongated spaces of which we have spoken, are not distended with any fluid, but are merely moistened in the same way as the areolas of ordinary areolar tissue.

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin āreola (“small vacant space, garden”), diminutive of ārea. Doublet of areole.

This word in other languages

areola(Español)aréole(Français)

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 "areola"?
"areola" is spelled A-R-E-O-L-A. The IPA pronunciation is /əˈɹi.ə.lə/.
What does "areola" mean?
As a noun, "areola" means: The circular, darkly pigmented area surrounding a nipple; the areola mammae.
How do you pronounce "areola"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "areola" is /əˈɹi.ə.lə/. 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 "areola"?
Borrowed from Latin āreola (“small vacant space, garden”), diminutive of ārea. Doublet of areole. 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 "areola", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Artois#62,683Advani#62,655Yamuna#62,636boohoo#62,724

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list