hydrocortisone

Name: hydrocortisone, English Word Data
Creator: Wiktionary
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

/ˌhʌɪ.dɹə(ʊ)ˈkɔː.tɪ.zəʊn/

//ˌhʌɪ.dɹə(ʊ)ˈkɔː.tɪ.zəʊn// noun

By PlainSpell · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) · analyzed May 6, 2026

The verdict

“hydrocortisone” is uncommon English (frequency #75,978 among 23,837 “H” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#75,978
frequency rank, English: 23,837
“H” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Name used for cortisol, a glucocorticoid steroid hormone, when used as a medication. Used to treat e.g. inflammation resulting from rheumatism and eczema.

Key facts for hydrocortisone
Property	Value
Headword	hydrocortisone
Language	English
Part of speech	Noun
IPA	/ˌhʌɪ.dɹə(ʊ)ˈkɔː.tɪ.zəʊn/
Letters	14
Frequency rank	#75,978
Misspellings tracked	0
Confusable pairs	0
Source	Wiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “hydrocortisone” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). hydrocortisone lands here:

#75,978

#1#100#1K#10K#100K

← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

hydrocortisone is uncommon English at frequency #75,978 among 23,837 “H” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˌhʌɪ.dɹə(ʊ)ˈkɔː.tɪ.zəʊn/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Name used for cortisol, a glucocorticoid steroid hormone, when used as a medication. Used to treat e.g. inflammation resulting from rheumatism and eczema.".

No misspelling variants are generated for hydrocortisone in our index, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From hydro- + cortisone. The correct English form is hydrocortisone, spelled H-Y-D-R-O-C-O-R-T-I-S-O-N-E.

Definition

1
Name used for cortisol, a glucocorticoid steroid hormone, when used as a medication. Used to treat e.g. inflammation resulting from rheumatism and eczema.

Etymology

From hydro- + cortisone.

This word in other languages

hidrocortisona(Español)Hydrokortison(Deutsch)

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

How do you spell "hydrocortisone"?

"hydrocortisone" is spelled H-Y-D-R-O-C-O-R-T-I-S-O-N-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˌhʌɪ.dɹə(ʊ)ˈkɔː.tɪ.zəʊn/.

What does "hydrocortisone" mean?

As a noun, "hydrocortisone" means: Name used for cortisol, a glucocorticoid steroid hormone, when used as a medication. Used to treat e.g. inflammation resulting from rheumatism and eczema.

How do you pronounce "hydrocortisone"?

The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "hydrocortisone" is /ˌhʌɪ.dɹə(ʊ)ˈkɔː.tɪ.zəʊn/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.

What is the origin of the word "hydrocortisone"?

From hydro- + cortisone. See the full etymology section above for more details.

Is PlainSpell free to use?

Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “hydrocortisone”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

The one correct English spelling is H-Y-D-R-O-C-O-R-T-I-S-O-N-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
Say it as /ˌhʌɪ.dɹə(ʊ)ˈkɔː.tɪ.zəʊn/ (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

Other uncommon English words near this rank

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.