kyphosis

/kaɪˈfoʊ.sɪs/

//kaɪˈfoʊ.sɪs// noun

"kyphosis" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“kyphosis” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
8
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The normal convex curvature of the spine in the thoracic and sacral regions.

Corpus desk

Index EN-kyphosis · kyphosis · English

kyphosis · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "K" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

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.

Key facts for kyphosis
PropertyValue
Headwordkyphosis
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/kaɪˈfoʊ.sɪs/
Letters8
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “kyphosis” in English

kyphosissits beyond the 100,000 most-frequent English words, in the long tail of technical, archaic, or otherwise rare vocabulary where spelling doubt tends to strike hardest.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

kyphosis is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /kaɪˈfoʊ.sɪs/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

No generated misspelling entries exist for kyphosis in our index, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. Our dataset records no confusable match here, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: Learned borrowing from Ancient Greek κύφωσις (kúphōsis). The correct English form is kyphosis, spelled K-Y-P-H-O-S-I-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    The normal convex curvature of the spine in the thoracic and sacral regions.
  2. 2
    An abnormal convex curvature of the spine in the cervical or lumbar regions of the spine.

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Ancient Greek κύφωσις (kúphōsis).

This word in other languages

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "kyphosis"?
"kyphosis" is spelled K-Y-P-H-O-S-I-S. The IPA pronunciation is /kaɪˈfoʊ.sɪs/.
What does "kyphosis" mean?
As a noun, "kyphosis" means: The normal convex curvature of the spine in the thoracic and sacral regions.
How do you pronounce "kyphosis"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "kyphosis" is /kaɪˈfoʊ.sɪs/. 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 "kyphosis"?
Learned borrowing from Ancient Greek κύφωσις (kúphōsis). 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list