ciprofloxacin
/ˌsɪp.ɹəˈflɑk.səs.ɪn/
"ciprofloxacin" is a 13-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“ciprofloxacin” is uncommon English (frequency #84,102 among 43,570 “C” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #84,102
- frequency rank, English
- 43,570
- “C” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A broad-spectrum fluoroquinolone antibiotic C₁₇H₁₈FN₃O₃ that is often administered in the form of its hydrochloride C₁₇H₁₈FN₃O₃·HCl and is effective especially against gram-negative bacteria.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | ciprofloxacin |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˌsɪp.ɹəˈflɑk.səs.ɪn/ |
| Letters | 13 |
| Frequency rank | #84,102 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “ciprofloxacin” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
ciprofloxacin is uncommon English at frequency #84,102 among 43,570 “C” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˌsɪp.ɹəˈflɑk.səs.ɪn/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A broad-spectrum fluoroquinolone antibiotic C₁₇H₁₈FN₃O₃ that is often administered in the form of its hydrochloride C₁₇H₁₈FN₃O₃·HCl and is effective especially against gram-negative bacteria.".
Zero misspellings are on record for ciprofloxacin in our index, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: From cy(clo)pro(pyl) + -floxacin (“nalidixic acid derivative”). The correct English form is ciprofloxacin, spelled C-I-P-R-O-F-L-O-X-A-C-I-N.
Definition
- 1A broad-spectrum fluoroquinolone antibiotic C₁₇H₁₈FN₃O₃ that is often administered in the form of its hydrochloride C₁₇H₁₈FN₃O₃·HCl and is effective especially against gram-negative bacteria.
Etymology
From cy(clo)pro(pyl) + -floxacin (“nalidixic acid derivative”).
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
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Using “ciprofloxacin”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is C-I-P-R-O-F-L-O-X-A-C-I-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˌsɪp.ɹəˈflɑk.səs.ɪn/ (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.