hydro-
/ˈhaɪ.dɹoʊ/
"hydro" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“hydro-” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a prefix. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 6
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - water
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | hydro- |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Prefix |
| IPA | /ˈhaɪ.dɹoʊ/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “hydro-” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
hydro- is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as aprefix, transcribed /ˈhaɪ.dɹoʊ/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 5 senses are on record.
Zero misspellings are on record for hydro- in our index, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Ancient Greek ὑδρο- (hudro-), from ὕδωρ (húdōr, “water”). The correct English form is hydro-, spelled H-Y-D-R-O--.
Definition
- 1water
- 2liquid
- 3hydrogen
- 4a hydrous compound
- 5Hydrozoa
Etymology
From Ancient Greek ὑδρο- (hudro-), from ὕδωρ (húdōr, “water”).
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
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Using “hydro-”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is H-Y-D-R-O-- - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈhaɪ.dɹoʊ/ (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.