dichotomy
di·cho·to·my/daɪˈkɑtəmi/noun
dichotomy is spelled D-I-C-H-O-T-O-M-Y, 4 syllables: di·cho·to·my. The wrong spelling people search most is dichtomy: about 40 Bing searches a month in the United States (September 2025 to August 2026), about 1 in 200 of all searches for the word. Dichotomy is a noun meaning “A separation or division into two; a distinction that results in such a division”. The plural of dichotomy is dichotomies.
How many letters and syllables are in dichotomy?
| Letters | 9: D-I-C-H-O-T-O-M-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4: di·cho·to·my |
| In writing | 1.2 times per million words; the 25,751st most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | 1; the most searched, dichtomy, about 40 Bing searches a month (all of them) |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How do you spell dichotomy?
Dichotomy is spelled D-I-C-H-O-T-O-M-Y. One wrong spelling is searched or written often enough to measure; together they are about 1 in 201 of the searches for dichotomy in either form.
Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026). Wrong spellings are taken from Wiktionary entries tagged "misspelling" and its obsolete or nonstandard forms, Wikipedia's Lists of common misspellings and the codespell dictionary, then measured. The proofreader's marks show the change that corrects each one.
How common is dichotomy?
Dichotomy appears 1.2 times per million words in written English, the 25,751st most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce dichotomy?
- UK /daɪˈkɒtəmi/
- UK /dɪ-/
- US /daɪˈkɑtəmi/
Dichotomy has 4 syllables, split di·cho·to·my in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-dichotomy.ogg, En-au-dichotomy.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with dichotomy?
4 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as dichotomy from its last stressed vowel (/ɑtəmi/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of dichotomy
- dichotomies plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does dichotomy mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A separation or division into two; a distinction that results in such a division.
- 2
Such a division involving apparently incompatible or opposite principles; a duality.
- 3
The division of a class into two disjoint subclasses that are together comprehensive, as the division of human into female and male.
- 4
The division of a genus into two species; a division into two subordinate parts.
- 5
A phase of the moon when it appears half lit and half dark, for example at the quadratures.
- 6
Division and subdivision; bifurcation, such as that of a stem of a plant or a vein of the body into two parts as it proceeds from its origin; often successive.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Dichotomy in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense separation or division into two:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | dichotomie |
| German | Dichotomie, Zweiteilung |
| Portuguese | dicotomia |
| Spanish | dicotomía |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does dichotomy come from?
From Ancient Greek διχοτομία (dikhotomía, “dichotomy”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).