extraterrestrial
/ˌɛk.stɹə.təˈɹɛs.tɹi.əl/
"extraterrestrial" is a 16-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“extraterrestrial” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #25,380 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.
- #25,380
- frequency rank, English
- 16
- letters
- 23
- tracked misspellings
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Originating from outside of the Earth's atmosphere, from space, or from another planet; alien to Earth or its environment.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | extraterrestrial |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ˌɛk.stɹə.təˈɹɛs.tɹi.əl/ |
| Letters | 16 |
| Frequency rank | #25,380 |
| Misspellings tracked | 23 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “extraterrestrial” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for extraterrestrial is 16 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˌɛk.stɹə.təˈɹɛs.tɹi.əl/. Corpus data places it at rank #25,380 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "Originating from outside of the Earth's atmosphere, from space, or from another planet; alien to Earth or its environment.".
Our generated misspelling index lists 23 likely wrong-spelling variants for extraterrestrial, with forms such as "etxraterrestrial", "exrtaterrestrial", and "extarterrestrial". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.
Etymologically, the entry records: From extra- + terrestrial. The correct English form is extraterrestrial, spelled E-X-T-R-A-T-E-R-R-E-S-T-R-I-A-L.
Definition
- 1Originating from outside of the Earth's atmosphere, from space, or from another planet; alien to Earth or its environment.
Etymology
From extra- + terrestrial.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: etxraterrestrial,exrtaterrestrial,extarterrestrial,extraetrrestrial,extratererstrial,extraterestrial,extraterresrtial,extraterresstrial,extraterrestiral,extraterrestrail,extraterrestriall,extraterrestrila,extraterrestrrial,extraterresttrial,extraterretsrial,extraterrsetrial,extratrerestrial,extratterrestrial,extrraterrestrial,extrtaerrestrial,exttraterrestrial,exxtraterrestrial,xetraterrestrial
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of extraterrestrial - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
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 “extraterrestrial”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is E-X-T-R-A-T-E-R-R-E-S-T-R-I-A-L - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˌɛk.stɹə.təˈɹɛs.tɹi.əl/ (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.