cortisone

/ˈkɔː.tɪ.zəʊn/

//ˈkɔː.tɪ.zəʊn// noun

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

The verdict

“cortisone” is uncommon English (frequency #50,442 among 5,599 “C” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#50,442
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 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...

Corpus desk

Index EN-cortisone · cortisone · English

cortisone · rank #50,442 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #50,442
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH coun

Nearest frequency peer: coun (+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 “cortisone”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

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

Long-tail rank of “cortisone” in English

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).cortisonefalls in this rarity band:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Rare peers in the same band: “coun” (#50,443), “coronet” (#50,440), “coq” (#50,439). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “cortisone” is #50,442. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

cortisone is uncommon English at frequency #50,442 among 5,599 “C” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈkɔː.tɪ.zəʊn/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "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.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "cortisone", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list