enzyme
/ˈɛn.zaɪm/
"enzyme" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“enzyme” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #9,329 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #9,329
- frequency rank, English
- 6
- letters
- 9
- tracked misspellings
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A biomolecule that catalyses a biological chemical reaction: either a globular protein with this function or an RNA molecule with this function.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | enzyme |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈɛn.zaɪm/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #9,329 |
| Misspellings tracked | 9 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “enzyme” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for enzyme is 6 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈɛn.zaɪm/. Corpus data places it at rank #9,329 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for enzyme, with forms such as "ennzyme", "enyzme", and "enzmye". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. 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: From German Enzym, coined 1878 by the German physiologist Wilhelm Kühne from Ancient Greek ἐν (en, “in”) + ζύμη (zúmē, “leaven”). By surface analysis, en- + zyme. The correct English form is enzyme, spelled E-N-Z-Y-M-E.
Definition
- 1A biomolecule that catalyses a biological chemical reaction: either a globular protein with this function or an RNA molecule with this function.
- 2A biomolecule that catalyses a biological chemical reaction: either a globular protein with this function or an RNA molecule with this function.
- 3Leavened bread, as opposed to azyme.
Etymology
From German Enzym, coined 1878 by the German physiologist Wilhelm Kühne from Ancient Greek ἐν (en, “in”) + ζύμη (zúmē, “leaven”). By surface analysis, en- + zyme.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: ennzyme,enyzme,enzmye,enzyem,enzymme,enzyyme,enzzyme,eznyme,nezyme
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of enzyme - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.
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
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Using “enzyme”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is E-N-Z-Y-M-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈɛn.zaɪm/ (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.