chemist's shop

noun

"chemist-s-shop" is a 12-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“chemist's shop” is outside the top-ranked English vocabulary, used as a noun - the kind of word writers most often double-check.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
14
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Synonym of pharmacy, especially when run as a small standalone general store.

Key facts for chemist's shop
PropertyValue
Headwordchemist's shop
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters14
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “chemist's shop” sits in English frequency

chemist's shop falls outside the top-100,000 ranked English words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

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

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for chemist's shop is 14 letters long, classified as a noun. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "Synonym of pharmacy, especially when run as a small standalone general store.".

No generated misspelling entries exist for chemist's shop in our index, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. Our dataset records no confusable match here, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

Etymologically, the entry records: In British, Australian, and New Zealand English chemist is a synonym for pharmacist. The correct English form is chemist's shop, spelled C-H-E-M-I-S-T-'-S- -S-H-O-P.

Definition

  1. 1
    Synonym of pharmacy, especially when run as a small standalone general store.

Etymology

In British, Australian, and New Zealand English chemist is a synonym for pharmacist.

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 "chemist's shop"?
"chemist's shop" is spelled C-H-E-M-I-S-T-'-S- -S-H-O-P.
What does "chemist's shop" mean?
As a noun, "chemist's shop" means: Synonym of pharmacy, especially when run as a small standalone general store.
What is the origin of the word "chemist's shop"?
In British, Australian, and New Zealand English chemist is a synonym for pharmacist. 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 “chemist's shop”

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

  • The one correct English spelling is C-H-E-M-I-S-T-'-S- -S-H-O-P - 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list