catabolism

/kəˈtæbəlɪzm/

//kəˈtæbəlɪzm// noun

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

"catabolism" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“catabolism” is uncommon English (frequency #89,207 among 5,599 “C” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#89,207
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Destructive (lytic) metabolism or metabolization, usually including the release of energy and breakdown of materials.

Corpus desk

Index EN-catabolism · catabolism · English

catabolism · rank #89,207 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #89,207
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH Cassano

Nearest frequency peer: Cassano (-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 “catabolism”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for catabolism
PropertyValue
Headwordcatabolism
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/kəˈtæbəlɪzm/
Letters10
Frequency rank#89,207
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “catabolism” 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).catabolismfalls in this rarity band:

#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. Rare peers in the same band: “Cassano” (#89,206), “Catesby” (#89,208), “Cartersville” (#89,205). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “catabolism” is #89,207. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

catabolism is uncommon English at frequency #89,207 among 5,599 “C” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /kəˈtæbəlɪzm/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Destructive (lytic) metabolism or metabolization, usually including the release of energy and breakdown of materials.".

catabolism has no tracked misspelling variants, 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, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Ancient Greek καταβολή (katabolḗ, “throwing down”), from κατά (katá, “down”) + βάλλω (bállō, “I throw”). The correct English form is catabolism, spelled C-A-T-A-B-O-L-I-S-M.

Definition

  1. 1
    Destructive (lytic) metabolism or metabolization, usually including the release of energy and breakdown of materials.

Etymology

From Ancient Greek καταβολή (katabolḗ, “throwing down”), from κατά (katá, “down”) + βάλλω (bállō, “I throw”).

This word in other languages

catabolismo(Español)catabolisme(Français)Katabolismus(Deutsch)

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 "catabolism"?
"catabolism" is spelled C-A-T-A-B-O-L-I-S-M. The IPA pronunciation is /kəˈtæbəlɪzm/.
What does "catabolism" mean?
As a noun, "catabolism" means: Destructive (lytic) metabolism or metabolization, usually including the release of energy and breakdown of materials.
How do you pronounce "catabolism"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "catabolism" is /kəˈtæbəlɪzm/. 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 "catabolism"?
From Ancient Greek καταβολή (katabolḗ, “throwing down”), from κατά (katá, “down”) + βάλλω (bállō, “I throw”). 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 "catabolism", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 10 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Carnoustie#89,203chillingly#89,224circumcise#89,234Betelgeuse#89,152

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list