ketone

/ˈkiːtəʊn/

//ˈkiːtəʊn// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"ketone" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“ketone” has 8 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #44,884. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#44,884
frequency rank, English
1,236
“K” headwords
8
tracked misspellings
7
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A homologous series of organic molecules whose functional group is an oxygen atom joined to a carbon atom—by a double bond—in a carbon-hydrogen based molecule.

Corpus desk

Index EN-ketone · ketone · English

ketone · rank #44,884 · 8 variants · 7 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #44,884
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 7 pairs
  • VAR-MID 8 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,236
  • PHOTO-FINISH KF

Nearest frequency peer: KF (+1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “ketone”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “ketone” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

ketone vs kettle
67% similar
ketone vs keystone
75% similar
ketone vs keto
67% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for ketone
PropertyValue
Headwordketone
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈkiːtəʊn/
Letters6
Frequency rank#44,884
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs7
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “ketone”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).ketonelands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “KF” (#44,885), “kemper” (#44,882), “Kiko” (#44,886). Among 1,236 “K” headwords, “ketone” is #44,884. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 8 spelling variants around ketone (IPA /ˈkiːtəʊn/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #44,884 among 1,236 “K” headwords. Dominant gloss: "A homologous series of organic molecules whose functional group is an oxygen atom joined to a carbon atom—by a double bond—in a carbon-hydrogen based molecule.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for ketone, with forms such as "ektone", "keotne", and "ketnoe". 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 7 confusable-pair relationships, "kettle", "keystone", "keto", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From German Keton, from Aketon (“acetone”), from French acétone (“acetone”). See acetone. The correct English form is ketone, spelled K-E-T-O-N-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A homologous series of organic molecules whose functional group is an oxygen atom joined to a carbon atom—by a double bond—in a carbon-hydrogen based molecule.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how ketone appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. acetone R₁ = R₂ = CH₃
  2. methyl ethyl ketone R₁ = CH₃, R₂ = C₂H₅

Etymology

From German Keton, from Aketon (“acetone”), from French acétone (“acetone”). See acetone.

This word in other languages

cétone(Français)Keton(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ektone
  • keotne
  • ketnoe
  • ketoen
  • ketonne
  • kettone
  • kketone
  • kteone

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of ketone - 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.

ektone2keotne2ketnoe2ketoen2ketonne1kettone1kketone1kteone2
Edit distance from "ketone"

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 "ketone"?
"ketone" is spelled K-E-T-O-N-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈkiːtəʊn/.
What does "ketone" mean?
As a noun, "ketone" means: A homologous series of organic molecules whose functional group is an oxygen atom joined to a carbon atom—by a double bond—in a carbon-hydrogen based molecule.
What words are commonly confused with "ketone"?
"ketone" is commonly confused with "kettle", "keystone", "keto". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "ketone"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "ketone" is /ˈkiːtəʊn/. 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 "ketone"?
From German Keton, from Aketon (“acetone”), from French acétone (“acetone”). See acetone. 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.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "ketone", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

kemper#44,882Kimber#44,887Kanpur#44,878Komodo#44,890

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (8 here; floor ≥5).

leaded8 variantsLorena8 variantsHynes8 variantsMadera8 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list