geodesic
/ˌd͡ʒiː.əˈdɛs.ɪk/
"geodesic" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“geodesic” is an uncommon English word, ranked #59,416 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #59,416
- frequency rank, English
- 8
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The shortest curve between two points on a specific surface.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | geodesic |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˌd͡ʒiː.əˈdɛs.ɪk/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #59,416 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “geodesic” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for geodesic is 8 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˌd͡ʒiː.əˈdɛs.ɪk/. Corpus data places it at rank #59,416 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
geodesic has no tracked misspelling variants, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.
Etymologically, the entry records: From French géodésique. By surface analysis, geodesy + -ic. The correct English form is geodesic, spelled G-E-O-D-E-S-I-C.
Definition
- 1The shortest curve between two points on a specific surface.
- 2A segment of a great circle.
- 3A course allowing the parallel-transport of vectors along a course that causes tangent vectors to remain tangent vectors throughout that course (a straight curve, a line that is straight).
Etymology
From French géodésique. By surface analysis, geodesy + -ic.
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
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Using “geodesic”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is G-E-O-D-E-S-I-C - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˌd͡ʒiː.əˈdɛs.ɪk/ (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.