clinic

/ˈklɪn.ɪk/

//ˈklɪn.ɪk// noun

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

"clinic" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“clinic” has 9 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #5,015. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#5,015
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords
9
tracked misspellings
10
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A medical facility, such as a hospital, especially one for the treatment and diagnosis of outpatients.

Corpus desk

Index EN-clinic · clinic · English

clinic · rank #5,015 · 9 variants · 10 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #5,015
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 10 pairs
  • VAR-MID 9 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH clever

Nearest frequency peer: clever (-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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “clinic”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “clinic” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

clinic vs Clint
50% similar
clinic vs cynic
67% similar
clinic vs clink
67% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for clinic
PropertyValue
Headwordclinic
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈklɪn.ɪk/
Letters6
Frequency rank#5,015
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs10
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “clinic”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).cliniclands here:

#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. Same rarity band neighbours include “clever” (#5,014), “closest” (#5,016), “CIA” (#5,013). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “clinic” is #5,015. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 9 spelling variants around clinic (IPA /ˈklɪn.ɪk/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #5,015 among 5,599 “C” headwords. Wiktionary lists 9 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for clinic, with forms such as "cclinic", "cilnic", and "cliinc". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 10 confusable-pair relationships, "Clint", "cynic", "clink", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from French clinique, from Late Latin clīnicus (“a bed-ridden person, one baptized on a sick-bed, a physician”), from Ancient Greek κλῑνικός (klīnikós, “pertaining to a bed”), from κλῑ́νη (klī́nē, “bed”), from κλῑ́νω (klī́nō, “to lean, incline”). The correct English form is clinic, spelled C-L-I-N-I-C.

Definition

  1. 1
    A medical facility, such as a hospital, especially one for the treatment and diagnosis of outpatients.
  2. 2
    A hospital session to diagnose or treat patients.
  3. 3
    A school, or class, in which medicine or surgery is taught by examining and treating patients in the presence of the pupils.
  4. 4
    A group practice of several physicians or other health professionals.
  5. 5
    A meeting for the diagnosis of problems, or training, on a particular subject.
  6. 6
    A temporary office arranged on a regular basis to allow politicians to meet their constituents.
  7. 7
    A series of workouts used to build skills of practitioners regardless of team affiliation.
  8. 8
    A bed-ridden person
  9. 9
    Someone who receives baptism on a sickbed.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. A local community group will be holding a legal clinic where low-income residents can consult a lawyer for free.
  2. We'll also be offering music clinics, lessons, and new product demonstrations throughout the year.

Etymology

Borrowed from French clinique, from Late Latin clīnicus (“a bed-ridden person, one baptized on a sick-bed, a physician”), from Ancient Greek κλῑνικός (klīnikós, “pertaining to a bed”), from κλῑ́νη (klī́nē, “bed”), from κλῑ́νω (klī́nō, “to lean, incline”).

This word in other languages

clínica(Español)clinique(Français)Klinik(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • cclinic
  • cilnic
  • cliinc
  • clinci
  • clinicc
  • clinnic
  • cllinic
  • clniic
  • lcinic

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of clinic - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

cclinic1cilnic2cliinc2clinci2clinicc1clinnic1cllinic1clniic2
Edit distance from "clinic"

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 "clinic"?
"clinic" is spelled C-L-I-N-I-C. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈklɪn.ɪk/.
What does "clinic" mean?
As a noun, "clinic" means: A medical facility, such as a hospital, especially one for the treatment and diagnosis of outpatients.
What words are commonly confused with "clinic"?
"clinic" is commonly confused with "Clint", "cynic", "clink". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "clinic"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "clinic" is /ˈklɪn.ɪk/. 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 "clinic"?
Borrowed from French clinique, from Late Latin clīnicus (“a bed-ridden person, one baptized on a sick-bed, a physician”), from Ancient Greek κλῑνικός (klīnikós, “pertaining to a bed”), from κλῑ́νη (klī́nē, “bed”), from κλῑ́νω (klī́nō, “to lean, in... 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 "clinic", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

clever#5,014bitter#5,008beaten#5,007backup#5,006

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (9 here; floor ≥5).

habits9 variantsholder9 variantssafely9 variantslegally9 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list