butanoic acid
"butanoic-acid" is a 12-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“butanoic acid” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 13
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The chemical compound with the formula CH₃(CH₂)₂COOH, a short chain fatty acid; its glyceride is one of the principle components of the flavor of butter.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | butanoic acid |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| Letters | 13 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “butanoic acid” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
butanoic acid is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "The chemical compound with the formula CH₃(CH₂)₂COOH, a short chain fatty acid; its glyceride is one of the principle components of the flavor of butter.".
No misspelling variants are generated for butanoic acid in our index, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.
Etymologically, the entry records: butane + -oic acid The correct English form is butanoic acid, spelled B-U-T-A-N-O-I-C- -A-C-I-D.
Definition
- 1The chemical compound with the formula CH₃(CH₂)₂COOH, a short chain fatty acid; its glyceride is one of the principle components of the flavor of butter.
Etymology
butane + -oic acid
Synonyms
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you spell "butanoic acid"?
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Using “butanoic acid”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is B-U-T-A-N-O-I-C- -A-C-I-D - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
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.