heterotroph
/ˈhɛt(ə)ɹə(ʊ)tɹəʊf/
"heterotroph" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“heterotroph” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 11
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - An organism which requires an external supply of energy and nutrients under the form of food containing organic carbon as it cannot synthesize its own.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | heterotroph |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈhɛt(ə)ɹə(ʊ)tɹəʊf/ |
| Letters | 11 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “heterotroph” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
heterotroph is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈhɛt(ə)ɹə(ʊ)tɹəʊf/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "An organism which requires an external supply of energy and nutrients under the form of food containing organic carbon as it cannot synthesize its own.".
heterotroph doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: From hetero- (“other”) + -troph (“nutrition”). The correct English form is heterotroph, spelled H-E-T-E-R-O-T-R-O-P-H.
Definition
- 1An organism which requires an external supply of energy and nutrients under the form of food containing organic carbon as it cannot synthesize its own.
Etymology
From hetero- (“other”) + -troph (“nutrition”).
Synonyms
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). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you spell "heterotroph"?
What does "heterotroph" mean?
How do you pronounce "heterotroph"?
What is the origin of the word "heterotroph"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “heterotroph”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is H-E-T-E-R-O-T-R-O-P-H - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈhɛt(ə)ɹə(ʊ)tɹəʊf/ (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.