aspartame

/əˈspɑːteɪm/

//əˈspɑːteɪm// noun

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

"aspartame" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“aspartame” is uncommon English (frequency #53,379 among 3,931 “A” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#53,379
frequency rank, English
3,931
“A” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - An artificial sweetener, the methyl ester of a dipeptide formed from aspartic acid and phenylalanine, used in many processed foods and beverages.

Corpus desk

Index EN-aspartame · aspartame · English

aspartame · rank #53,379 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #53,379
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,931
  • PHOTO-FINISH assimilating

Nearest frequency peer: assimilating (+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 “aspartame”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for aspartame
PropertyValue
Headwordaspartame
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/əˈspɑːteɪm/
Letters9
Frequency rank#53,379
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “aspartame” in English

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).aspartamefalls 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: “assimilating” (#53,380), “attractively” (#53,381), “Ararat” (#53,376). Among 3,931 “A” headwords, “aspartame” is #53,379. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

aspartame is uncommon English at frequency #53,379 among 3,931 “A” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /əˈspɑːteɪm/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "An artificial sweetener, the methyl ester of a dipeptide formed from aspartic acid and phenylalanine, used in many processed foods and beverages.".

No misspelling variants are generated for aspartame in our index, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: Commercial name, from aspartic. The -ame is perhaps because aspartame is an amide. Compare aspartamine. The correct English form is aspartame, spelled A-S-P-A-R-T-A-M-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    An artificial sweetener, the methyl ester of a dipeptide formed from aspartic acid and phenylalanine, used in many processed foods and beverages.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Though reluctant to further expose him to aspartame, I had little trouble persuading Jamie's mother to carry out a double-blind trial in order to more rigorously document her son's aberrant response to aspartame.
  2. Caramel colors and aspartame Phosphoric acid, potassium Natural flavors, of course caffeine And now I'm jonesin' for MSG

Etymology

Commercial name, from aspartic. The -ame is perhaps because aspartame is an amide. Compare aspartamine.

Synonyms

E951 when used as a sweetener

This word in other languages

aspartamo(Español)Aspartam(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 "aspartame"?
"aspartame" is spelled A-S-P-A-R-T-A-M-E. The IPA pronunciation is /əˈspɑːteɪm/.
What does "aspartame" mean?
As a noun, "aspartame" means: An artificial sweetener, the methyl ester of a dipeptide formed from aspartic acid and phenylalanine, used in many processed foods and beverages.
How do you pronounce "aspartame"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "aspartame" is /əˈspɑːteɪm/. 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 "aspartame"?
Commercial name, from aspartic. The -ame is perhaps because aspartame is an amide. Compare aspartamine. 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 "aspartame", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

beachside#53,395belittled#53,397betrothal#53,400brasserie#53,413

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list