diatomic

/daɪəˈtɒmɪk/

//daɪəˈtɒmɪk// adj

"diatomic" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“diatomic” is uncommon English (frequency #99,178 among 3,470 “D” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#99,178
frequency rank, English
3,470
“D” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Consisting of two atoms.

Corpus desk

Index EN-diatomic · diatomic · English

diatomic · rank #99,178 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #99,178
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,470
  • PHOTO-FINISH dickwad

Nearest frequency peer: dickwad (+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 “diatomic”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for diatomic
PropertyValue
Headworddiatomic
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/daɪəˈtɒmɪk/
Letters8
Frequency rank#99,178
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “diatomic” 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).diatomicfalls 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: “dickwad” (#99,179), “dilator” (#99,180), “destructible” (#99,175). Among 3,470 “D” headwords, “diatomic” is #99,178. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

diatomic is uncommon English at frequency #99,178 among 3,470 “D” headwords, classed as anadjective, transcribed /daɪəˈtɒmɪk/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Consisting of two atoms.".

diatomic has no tracked misspelling variants, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From di- + atomic. The correct English form is diatomic, spelled D-I-A-T-O-M-I-C.

Definition

  1. 1
    Consisting of two atoms.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. diatomic molecule
  2. diatomic element

Etymology

From di- + atomic.

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 "diatomic"?
"diatomic" is spelled D-I-A-T-O-M-I-C. The IPA pronunciation is /daɪəˈtɒmɪk/.
What does "diatomic" mean?
As an adjective, "diatomic" means: Consisting of two atoms.
How do you pronounce "diatomic"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "diatomic" is /daɪəˈtɒmɪk/. 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 "diatomic"?
From di- + atomic. 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 "diatomic", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list