cortisone

/ˈkɔː.tɪ.zəʊn/

//ˈkɔː.tɪ.zəʊn// noun

"cortisone" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“cortisone” is an uncommon English word, ranked #50,442 in English word frequency and used as a noun.

#50,442
frequency rank, English
9
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A corticosteroid hormone, closely related to corticosterone, produced by the adrenal cortex. One of the glucocorticoids, it is also made synthetically for use as an anti-inflammatory and antiallerg...

Key facts for cortisone
PropertyValue
Headwordcortisone
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈkɔː.tɪ.zəʊn/
Letters9
Frequency rank#50,442
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “cortisone” 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). cortisone lands here:

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

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

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for cortisone is 9 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈkɔː.tɪ.zəʊn/. Corpus data places it at rank #50,442 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "A corticosteroid hormone, closely related to corticosterone, produced by the adrenal cortex. One of the glucocorticoids, it is also made synthetically for use as an anti-inflammatory and antiallerg...".

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for cortisone, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: Shortening of corticosterone. The correct English form is cortisone, spelled C-O-R-T-I-S-O-N-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A corticosteroid hormone, closely related to corticosterone, produced by the adrenal cortex. One of the glucocorticoids, it is also made synthetically for use as an anti-inflammatory and antiallergy agent. 17-hydroxy-11-dehydrocorticosterone, with formula C₂₁H₂₈O₅.

Etymology

Shortening of corticosterone.

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 "cortisone"?
"cortisone" is spelled C-O-R-T-I-S-O-N-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈkɔː.tɪ.zəʊn/.
What does "cortisone" mean?
As a noun, "cortisone" means: A corticosteroid hormone, closely related to corticosterone, produced by the adrenal cortex. One of the glucocorticoids, it is also made synthetically for use as an anti-inflammatory and antiallerg...
How do you pronounce "cortisone"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "cortisone" is /ˈkɔː.tɪ.zəʊn/. 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 "cortisone"?
Shortening of corticosterone. 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 “cortisone”

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

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