biodegradation

noun

"biodegradation" is a 14-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“biodegradation” is uncommon English (frequency #87,076 among 31,241 “B” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#87,076
frequency rank, English
31,241
“B” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The decomposition of any material by microorganisms.

Key facts for biodegradation
PropertyValue
Headwordbiodegradation
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters14
Frequency rank#87,076
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “biodegradation” sits in English frequency

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

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

biodegradation is uncommon English at frequency #87,076 among 31,241 “B” headwords, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "The decomposition of any material by microorganisms.".

biodegradation has no tracked misspelling variants, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

Etymologically, the entry records: From bio- + degradation. The correct English form is biodegradation, spelled B-I-O-D-E-G-R-A-D-A-T-I-O-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    The decomposition of any material by microorganisms.

Etymology

From bio- + degradation.

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 "biodegradation"?
"biodegradation" is spelled B-I-O-D-E-G-R-A-D-A-T-I-O-N.
What does "biodegradation" mean?
As a noun, "biodegradation" means: The decomposition of any material by microorganisms.
What is the origin of the word "biodegradation"?
From bio- + degradation. 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.

Using “biodegradation”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is B-I-O-D-E-G-R-A-D-A-T-I-O-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words

Other uncommon English words near this rank

Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list