corticosteroid

/ˈkʰoɹɾɪko.steːɹoid/

//ˈkʰoɹɾɪko.steːɹoid// noun

"corticosteroid" is a 14-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“corticosteroid” is uncommon English (frequency #57,957 among 5,599 “C” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#57,957
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Any of a group of steroid hormones, secreted by the adrenal cortex, that are involved in a large range of physiological systems.

Corpus desk

Index EN-corticosteroid · corticosteroid · English

corticosteroid · rank #57,957 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #57,957
  • LEN-MEGA 14 letters
  • VOW-6 6 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH corrector

Nearest frequency peer: corrector (-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 “corticosteroid”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for corticosteroid
PropertyValue
Headwordcorticosteroid
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈkʰoɹɾɪko.steːɹoid/
Letters14
Frequency rank#57,957
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “corticosteroid” in English

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).corticosteroidfalls 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: “corrector” (#57,956), “corvus” (#57,958), “Corinna” (#57,955). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “corticosteroid” is #57,957. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

corticosteroid is uncommon English at frequency #57,957 among 5,599 “C” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈkʰoɹɾɪko.steːɹoid/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

No misspelling variants are generated for corticosteroid in our index, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

Etymologically, the entry records: From cortico- + steroid. The correct English form is corticosteroid, spelled C-O-R-T-I-C-O-S-T-E-R-O-I-D.

Definition

  1. 1
    Any of a group of steroid hormones, secreted by the adrenal cortex, that are involved in a large range of physiological systems.
  2. 2
    Any of several synthetic hormones of related structure.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. Wúràọlá’s first patient was a man who had not noticed any significant improvement after a regimen of corticosteroids had been prescribed for his spondylosis.

Etymology

From cortico- + steroid.

Synonyms

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 "corticosteroid"?
"corticosteroid" is spelled C-O-R-T-I-C-O-S-T-E-R-O-I-D. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈkʰoɹɾɪko.steːɹoid/.
What does "corticosteroid" mean?
As a noun, "corticosteroid" means: Any of a group of steroid hormones, secreted by the adrenal cortex, that are involved in a large range of physiological systems.
How do you pronounce "corticosteroid"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "corticosteroid" is /ˈkʰoɹɾɪko.steːɹoid/. 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 "corticosteroid"?
From cortico- + steroid. 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 "corticosteroid", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 14 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list