bandgap

noun

"bandgap" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“bandgap” is uncommon English (frequency #85,017 among 4,121 “B” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#85,017
frequency rank, English
4,121
“B” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The energy difference between two allowed ranges of electron energy in a solid; especially the difference between the energies of the valence band and the conduction band.

Corpus desk

Index EN-bandgap · bandgap · English

bandgap · rank #85,017 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #85,017
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,121
  • PHOTO-FINISH Baltistan

Nearest frequency peer: Baltistan (-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 “bandgap”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for bandgap
PropertyValue
Headwordbandgap
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters7
Frequency rank#85,017
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “bandgap” 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).bandgapfalls in this rarity band:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “Baltistan” (#85,016), “barger” (#85,019), “Barolo” (#85,020). Among 4,121 “B” headwords, “bandgap” is #85,017. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

bandgap is uncommon English at frequency #85,017 among 4,121 “B” headwords, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

bandgap has no tracked misspelling variants, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

Etymologically, the entry records: From band + gap. The correct English form is bandgap, spelled B-A-N-D-G-A-P.

Definition

  1. 1
    The energy difference between two allowed ranges of electron energy in a solid; especially the difference between the energies of the valence band and the conduction band.
  2. 2
    A gap in a frequency range in which waves cannot propagate.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. The problem has been the lack of what is known as a bandgap. Semiconductors have bands of higher and lower energies and a point – the bandgap – at which excited electrons can hop from one to the other. This effectively allows switching on and off of the flow of current, so it is either conducting or not conducting, creating the binary system of zeroes and…
  2. The propagation of an acoustic wave inside a phononic crystal is forbidden in the bandgap frequency range due to Bragg scattering.

Etymology

From band + gap.

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 "bandgap"?
"bandgap" is spelled B-A-N-D-G-A-P.
What does "bandgap" mean?
As a noun, "bandgap" means: The energy difference between two allowed ranges of electron energy in a solid; especially the difference between the energies of the valence band and the conduction band.
What is the origin of the word "bandgap"?
From band + gap. 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 "bandgap", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list