choline

/ˈkoʊliːn/

//ˈkoʊliːn// noun

"choline" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“choline” is uncommon English (frequency #55,325 among 43,570 “C” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#55,325
frequency rank, English
43,570
“C” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A hydroxy quaternary ammonium compound with formula (CH₃)₃N⁺CH₂CH₂OHX⁻. It is an essential nutrient for cardiovascular and brain health and for cell membrane formation.

Key facts for choline
PropertyValue
Headwordcholine
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈkoʊliːn/
Letters7
Frequency rank#55,325
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “choline” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). choline lands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

choline is uncommon English at frequency #55,325 among 43,570 “C” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈkoʊliːn/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A hydroxy quaternary ammonium compound with formula (CH₃)₃N⁺CH₂CH₂OHX⁻. It is an essential nutrient for cardiovascular and brain health and for cell membrane formation.".

choline doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

Etymologically, the entry records: Coined from Ancient Greek χολή (kholḗ, “bile”). The chemical compound was first isolated by Adolph Strecker from pig and ox bile (hence the name) in 1862. It was also named neurine when chemically synthesized by Oscar Liebreich in 1865, until 1898 when show… The correct English form is choline, spelled C-H-O-L-I-N-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A hydroxy quaternary ammonium compound with formula (CH₃)₃N⁺CH₂CH₂OHX⁻. It is an essential nutrient for cardiovascular and brain health and for cell membrane formation.

Etymology

Coined from Ancient Greek χολή (kholḗ, “bile”). The chemical compound was first isolated by Adolph Strecker from pig and ox bile (hence the name) in 1862. It was also named neurine when chemically synthesized by Oscar Liebreich in 1865, until 1898 when shown to be identical to choline.

Synonyms

neurinevitamin Jsincaline

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); 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 "choline"?
"choline" is spelled C-H-O-L-I-N-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈkoʊliːn/.
What does "choline" mean?
As a noun, "choline" means: A hydroxy quaternary ammonium compound with formula (CH₃)₃N⁺CH₂CH₂OHX⁻. It is an essential nutrient for cardiovascular and brain health and for cell membrane formation.
How do you pronounce "choline"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "choline" is /ˈkoʊliːn/. 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 "choline"?
Coined from Ancient Greek χολή (kholḗ, “bile”). The chemical compound was first isolated by Adolph Strecker from pig and ox bile (hence the name) in 1862. It was also named neurine when chemically synthesized by Oscar Liebreich in 1865, until 1898... 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 “choline”

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

  • The one correct English spelling is C-H-O-L-I-N-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /ˈkoʊliːn/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words

Other uncommon English words near this rank

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