isotope
/ˈaɪ.sə.toʊp/noun, verb
isotope is spelled I-S-O-T-O-P-E: 7 letters and 3 syllables. It appears 1.4 times per million words in written English, the 23,835th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, isotope means “Any of two or more forms of an element where the atoms have the same number of protons, but a different number of neutrons within their nuclei. Thus…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of isotope is isotopes.
How many letters and syllables are in isotope?
| Letters | 7: I-S-O-T-O-P-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.4 times per million words; the 23,835th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is isotope?
Isotope appears 1.4 times per million words in written English, the 23,835th 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 isotope?
- UK /ˈaɪ.sə.təʊp/
- US /ˈaɪ.sə.toʊp/
As a verb (“To define or demonstrate an isotopy of (one map with…”): /ˈaɪ.sə.toʊp/.
Isotope has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-isotope.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of isotope
- isotopes plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- isotoping participle, present
- isotoped participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does isotope mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Any of two or more forms of an element where the atoms have the same number of protons, but a different number of neutrons within their nuclei. Thus, isotopes have the same atomic number but a different mass number.
verb
- 1
To define or demonstrate an isotopy of (one map with another).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Isotope in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense atoms of the same element having a different number of neutrons:
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 isotope come from?
From iso- (“equal”) + -tope (“place”), because the different isotopes of an element always occupy the same place in the periodic table. The term was coined by Scottish doctor Margaret Todd in 1909 and first used publicly on February 27, 1913 by English chemist Frederick Soddy.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).