biopsy

/ˈbaɪɑpsi/

//ˈbaɪɑpsi// noun

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

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

The verdict

“biopsy” has 9 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #19,272. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#19,272
frequency rank, English
4,121
“B” headwords
9
tracked misspellings
3
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The removal and examination of a sample of tissue, cells, or bodily fluid from a living body for diagnostic purposes.

Corpus desk

Index EN-biopsy · biopsy · English

biopsy · rank #19,272 · 9 variants · 3 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #19,272
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 3 pairs
  • VAR-MID 9 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,121
  • PHOTO-FINISH bey

Nearest frequency peer: bey (-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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “biopsy”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “biopsy” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

biopsy vs BIOS
0% similar
biopsy vs bossy
67% similar
biopsy vs biopic
67% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for biopsy
PropertyValue
Headwordbiopsy
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈbaɪɑpsi/
Letters6
Frequency rank#19,272
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs3
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “biopsy”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).biopsylands here:

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “bey” (#19,271), “Blackwell” (#19,273), “Beaumont” (#19,270). Among 4,121 “B” headwords, “biopsy” is #19,272. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 9 spelling variants around biopsy (IPA /ˈbaɪɑpsi/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #19,272 among 4,121 “B” headwords. Dominant gloss: "The removal and examination of a sample of tissue, cells, or bodily fluid from a living body for diagnostic purposes.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for biopsy, with forms such as "bbiopsy", "bioppsy", and "biopssy". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 3 confusable-pair relationships, "BIOS", "bossy", "biopic", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From French biopsie, from bi- + -opsy. The correct English form is biopsy, spelled B-I-O-P-S-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    The removal and examination of a sample of tissue, cells, or bodily fluid from a living body for diagnostic purposes.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. We will need to perform a biopsy to determine whether the tumour is malignant or benign.
  2. All the while he was talking, he took lots of biopsies, small samples of tissue to be examined by pathologists using a microscope.

Etymology

From French biopsie, from bi- + -opsy.

This word in other languages

biopsia(Español)biopsie(Français)Biopsie(Deutsch)biopsia(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • bbiopsy
  • bioppsy
  • biopssy
  • biopsyy
  • biopys
  • biospy
  • biposy
  • boipsy
  • ibopsy

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of biopsy - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

bbiopsy1bioppsy1biopssy1biopsyy1biopys2biospy2biposy2boipsy2
Edit distance from "biopsy"

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 "biopsy"?
"biopsy" is spelled B-I-O-P-S-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈbaɪɑpsi/.
What does "biopsy" mean?
As a noun, "biopsy" means: The removal and examination of a sample of tissue, cells, or bodily fluid from a living body for diagnostic purposes.
What words are commonly confused with "biopsy"?
"biopsy" is commonly confused with "BIOS", "bossy", "biopic". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "biopsy"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "biopsy" is /ˈbaɪɑpsi/. 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 "biopsy"?
From French biopsie, from bi- + -opsy. 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 "biopsy", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

briefs#19,276Aubrey#19,267Calais#19,278wrongs#19,258

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (9 here; floor ≥5).

canning9 variantsallocate9 variantschopper9 variantsclassed9 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list