ligand
/ˈlɪɡ.ənd/noun
ligand is spelled L-I-G-A-N-D: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 1.1 times per million words in written English, the 27,150th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, ligand means “Such an entity that binds to a central metal atom to form a coordination complex” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of ligand is ligands.
How many letters and syllables are in ligand?
| Letters | 6: L-I-G-A-N-D |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.1 times per million words; the 27,150th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with | |
| Same letters |
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); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is ligand?
Ligand appears 1.1 times per million words in written English, the 27,150th 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 ligand?
- UK /ˈlɪɡ.ənd/
- US /ˈlɪɡ.ənd/
- US /ˈlaɪ.ɡənd/
Ligand has 2 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: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-ligand.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with ligand?
One word on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as ligand from its last stressed vowel (/ɪɡənd/):
Spelled with the same letters in another order: lading.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of ligand
- ligands plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does ligand mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Such an entity that binds to a central metal atom to form a coordination complex.
- 2
Such an entity that forms a complex with a biomolecule to serve a biological purpose.
- 3
A letter that orthography requires or allows to be ligated with one or more other letters to form a ligature, such as a in æ or o in œ.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Ligand in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense something that binds to another chemical entity:
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 ligand come from?
Borrowed from Latin ligandus, gerundive of ligo (“bind”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).