cardiac arrest

/ˈkɑɹdiˌæk əˈɹɛst/

//ˈkɑɹdiˌæk əˈɹɛst// noun

"cardiac-arrest" is a 13-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“cardiac arrest” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
14
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The sudden and complete cessation of the heartbeat resulting in the loss of effective circulation of the blood.

Corpus desk

Index EN-cardiac-arrest · cardiac arrest · English

cardiac arrest · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 14 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "C" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

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.

Key facts for cardiac arrest
PropertyValue
Headwordcardiac arrest
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈkɑɹdiˌæk əˈɹɛst/
Letters14
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “cardiac arrest” in English

cardiac arrestranks outside the top 100,000 English headwords, in the long tail of specialist, archaic, or seldom-used vocabulary, exactly the territory where a reader stops mid-sentence to double-check spelling.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

cardiac arrest is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈkɑɹdiˌæk əˈɹɛst/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "The sudden and complete cessation of the heartbeat resulting in the loss of effective circulation of the blood.".

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for cardiac arrest, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

This headword's origin isn't recorded in our source data, so its spelling is best read as a straightforward mapping from sound to letter. The correct English form is cardiac arrest, spelled C-A-R-D-I-A-C- -A-R-R-E-S-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    The sudden and complete cessation of the heartbeat resulting in the loss of effective circulation of the blood.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. She went a few months before Sukumar died, a cardiac arrest in the middle of an afternoon nap, her rickety heart beating one moment, and then no more.

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). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "cardiac arrest"?
"cardiac arrest" is spelled C-A-R-D-I-A-C- -A-R-R-E-S-T. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈkɑɹdiˌæk əˈɹɛst/.
What does "cardiac arrest" mean?
As a noun, "cardiac arrest" means: The sudden and complete cessation of the heartbeat resulting in the loss of effective circulation of the blood.
How do you pronounce "cardiac arrest"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "cardiac arrest" is /ˈkɑɹdiˌæk əˈɹɛst/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "cardiac arrest" come from?
"cardiac arrest" is a English word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list