inhibitor
/ɪnˈhɪbɪtɚ/
"inhibitor" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“inhibitor” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #17,643 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #17,643
- frequency rank, English
- 9
- letters
- 13
- tracked misspellings
- 3
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - One who, or that which, inhibits.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | inhibitor |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ɪnˈhɪbɪtɚ/ |
| Letters | 9 |
| Frequency rank | #17,643 |
| Misspellings tracked | 13 |
| Confusable pairs | 3 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “inhibitor” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for inhibitor is 9 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ɪnˈhɪbɪtɚ/. Corpus data places it at rank #17,643 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.
Our generated misspelling index lists 13 likely wrong-spelling variants for inhibitor, with forms such as "ihnibitor", "inhbiitor", and "inhhibitor". 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. It also participates in 3 confusable-pair relationships, "inhibitory", "inhibit", "inhibition", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: From inhibit + -or. The correct English form is inhibitor, spelled I-N-H-I-B-I-T-O-R.
Definition
- 1One who, or that which, inhibits.
- 2Any substance capable of stopping or slowing a specific chemical reaction.
- 3Any substance capable of stopping or slowing a specific biological process.
Etymology
From inhibit + -or.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: ihnibitor,inhbiitor,inhhibitor,inhibbitor,inhibiotr,inhibitorr,inhibitro,inhibittor,inhibtior,inhiibtor,inihbitor,innhibitor,nihibitor
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of inhibitor - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.
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 “inhibitor”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is I-N-H-I-B-I-T-O-R - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ɪnˈhɪbɪtɚ/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “inhibitory” - see the side-by-side comparison. inhibitor vs inhibitory
- 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.