insulin
in·su·lin/ˈɪnsəlɪn/noun
insulin is spelled I-N-S-U-L-I-N: 7 letters and 3 syllables (in·su·lin). It appears 6.5 times per million words in written English, the 9,463rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, insulin means “A polypeptide hormone that regulates carbohydrate metabolism (in various animals including humans)” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of insulin is insulins.
How many letters and syllables are in insulin?
| Letters | 7: I-N-S-U-L-I-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3: in·su·lin |
| In writing | 6.5 times per million words; the 9,463rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is insulin?
Insulin appears 6.5 times per million words in written English, the 9,463rd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce insulin?
- UK /ˈɪnsjʊlin/
- UK /ˈɪnʃʊlɪn/
- US /ˈɪnsəlɪn/
Insulin has 3 syllables, split in·su·lin in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-insulin.wav, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Naomi_Persephone_Amethyst_(NaomiAmethyst)-insulin.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of insulin
- insulins plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does insulin mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A polypeptide hormone that regulates carbohydrate metabolism (in various animals including humans).
Mommy said that Grandma's diabetes happened because her body stopped making its own insulin.
- 2
Any exogenous preparation of this hormone for use as a medication.
The advent of insulin in the mid-20th century changed the lives of millions of people with diabetes.
- 3
Any exogenous preparation of this hormone or its analogues for use as a medication.
A: What kind of insulin do you take? B: I use basal-bolus therapy, which in my case involves glargine and lispro.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Insulin in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense polypeptide hormone:
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does insulin come from?
From Latin īnsula (“island”) (named for the islets of Langerhans, where insulin is produced) + -in.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).