lactose
/ˈlæk.təʊs/
"lactose" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“lactose” has 10 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #24,493. The variants make it a useful spelling check.
- #24,493
- frequency rank, English
- 2,297
- “L” headwords
- 10
- tracked misspellings
- 2
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The disaccharide sugar of milk and dairy products, C₁₂H₂₂O₁₁, a product of glucose and galactose used as a food and in medicinal compounds.
Corpus desk
Index EN-lactose · lactose · English
lactose · rank #24,493 · 10 variants · 2 confusables
- FREQ-MID #24,493
- LEN-LONG 7 letters
- VOW-3 3 vowels
- CONFUS-LOW 2 pairs
- VAR-MID 10 variants
- BOOK-MID 2,297
- PHOTO-FINISH L2
Nearest frequency peer: L2 (-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.
Frequency neighbourhood for “lactose”
Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)
- kinship
kinship
75,511 corpus weight
- L2
L2
75,509 corpus weight
- lactose
lactose
75,508 corpus weight
- LAT
LAT
75,507 corpus weight
- lenient
lenient
75,506 corpus weight
- liang
liang
75,505 corpus weight
What this shows Bars show where “lactose” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | lactose |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈlæk.təʊs/ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Frequency rank | #24,493 |
| Misspellings tracked | 10 |
| Confusable pairs | 2 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “lactose” sits in English frequency
A misspelling magnet
The generator records 10 spelling variants around lactose (IPA /ˈlæk.təʊs/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #24,493 among 2,297 “L” headwords. Dominant gloss: "The disaccharide sugar of milk and dairy products, C₁₂H₂₂O₁₁, a product of glucose and galactose used as a food and in medicinal compounds.".
Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for lactose, with forms such as "alctose", "lacctose", and "lacotse". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 2 confusable-pair relationships, "lactate", "lacrosse", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from French lactose, from Latin lac (“milk”) + -ose (derivation of glucose). Coined by French chemist Marcelin Berthelot. The correct English form is lactose, spelled L-A-C-T-O-S-E.
Definition
- 1The disaccharide sugar of milk and dairy products, C₁₂H₂₂O₁₁, a product of glucose and galactose used as a food and in medicinal compounds.
Etymology
Borrowed from French lactose, from Latin lac (“milk”) + -ose (derivation of glucose). Coined by French chemist Marcelin Berthelot.
Synonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as:
- alctose
- lacctose
- lacotse
- lactoes
- lactosse
- lactsoe
- lacttose
- latcose
- lcatose
- llactose
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of lactose - 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.
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.
PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 3, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you spell "lactose"?
What does "lactose" mean?
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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "lactose", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).
Similar misspelling depth
Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (10 here; floor ≥5).
What to do next
You've looked up "lactose". Here's where to go from here.
- "lactose" maps to 2 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "lactate". View pair
- 10 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
- Usage frequency rank #24,493 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
- Browse more English words in the "L" letter cohort. L–Z browse
- PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day
PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.
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.