deoxyribonucleic acid
/di.ɒk.sɪˌɹaɪ.bəʊ.njuːˈkleɪ.ɪk ˈæ.sɪd/
"deoxyribonucleic-acid" is a 20-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“deoxyribonucleic acid” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 21
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A nucleic acid found in all living things (and some non-living things such as certain viruses) which consists of two polynucleotide chains that coil around each other to form a double helix; encode...
Corpus desk
Index EN-deoxyribonucleic-acid · deoxyribonucleic acid · English
deoxyribonucleic acid · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MEGA 21 letters
- VOW-10 10 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "D" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
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.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | deoxyribonucleic acid |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /di.ɒk.sɪˌɹaɪ.bəʊ.njuːˈkleɪ.ɪk ˈæ.sɪd/ |
| Letters | 21 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “deoxyribonucleic acid” in English
Rare enough to double-check
deoxyribonucleic acid is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /di.ɒk.sɪˌɹaɪ.bəʊ.njuːˈkleɪ.ɪk ˈæ.sɪd/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A nucleic acid found in all living things (and some non-living things such as certain viruses) which consists of two polynucleotide chains that coil around each other to form a double helix; encode...".
Zero misspellings are on record for deoxyribonucleic acid in our index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.
Wiktionary doesn't record an etymology for this headword, so its spelling is easiest explained by how it's pronounced rather than where it came from. The correct English form is deoxyribonucleic acid, spelled D-E-O-X-Y-R-I-B-O-N-U-C-L-E-I-C- -A-C-I-D.
Definition
- 1A nucleic acid found in all living things (and some non-living things such as certain viruses) which consists of two polynucleotide chains that coil around each other to form a double helix; encoded in its structure are genetic instructions for development, functioning, growth, and reproduction.
Recorded use
Wiktionary exampleThese source excerpts show how deoxyribonucleic acid appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Meronym: nucleotide
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). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.