lactase

noun

"lactase" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“lactase” is uncommon English (frequency #79,689 among 16,425 “L” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#79,689
frequency rank, English
16,425
“L” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A β-galactosidase enzyme that is involved in the hydrolysis of the disaccharide lactose into constituent galactose and glucose monomers.

Key facts for lactase
PropertyValue
Headwordlactase
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters7
Frequency rank#79,689
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “lactase” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). lactase lands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

lactase is uncommon English at frequency #79,689 among 16,425 “L” headwords, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A β-galactosidase enzyme that is involved in the hydrolysis of the disaccharide lactose into constituent galactose and glucose monomers.".

Zero misspellings are on record for lactase in our index, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

Etymologically, the entry records: From lacto- + -ase. The correct English form is lactase, spelled L-A-C-T-A-S-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A β-galactosidase enzyme that is involved in the hydrolysis of the disaccharide lactose into constituent galactose and glucose monomers.

Etymology

From lacto- + -ase.

Synonyms

lactase-phlorizin hydrolase

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); 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 "lactase"?
"lactase" is spelled L-A-C-T-A-S-E.
What does "lactase" mean?
As a noun, "lactase" means: A β-galactosidase enzyme that is involved in the hydrolysis of the disaccharide lactose into constituent galactose and glucose monomers.
What is the origin of the word "lactase"?
From lacto- + -ase. 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.

Using “lactase”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is L-A-C-T-A-S-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words

Other uncommon English words near this rank

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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list