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 43,570 “C” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#57,957
frequency rank, English
43,570
“C” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Any of a group of steroid hormones, secreted by the adrenal cortex, that are involved in a large range of physiological systems.

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)

Where “corticosteroid” 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). corticosteroid 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

corticosteroid is uncommon English at frequency #57,957 among 43,570 “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.

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.

Using “corticosteroid”

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

  • The one correct English spelling is C-O-R-T-I-C-O-S-T-E-R-O-I-D - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /ˈkʰoɹɾɪko.steːɹoid/ (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