metformin
/mɛtˈfɔː.mɪn/
"metformin" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“metformin” is uncommon English (frequency #50,068 among 36,575 “M” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #50,068
- frequency rank, English
- 36,575
- “M” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A biguanide derivative, C₄H₁₁N₅, used, now chiefly as the hydrochloride, as an oral hypoglycemic agent in the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus; 1,1-dimethylbiguanide.
Corpus desk
Index EN-metformin · metformin · English
metformin · rank #50,068 · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-RARE #50,068
- LEN-LONG 9 letters
- VOW-3 3 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-DENSE 36,575
- PHOTO-FINISH meritocracy
Nearest frequency peer: meritocracy (-2 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 “metformin”
Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)
- Matlock
Matlock
49,939 corpus weight
- MAV
MAV
49,938 corpus weight
- McCown
McCown
49,937 corpus weight
- meritocracy
meritocracy
49,935 corpus weight
- metformin
metformin
49,933 corpus weight
- minima
minima
49,928 corpus weight
What this shows Bars show where “metformin” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | metformin |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /mɛtˈfɔː.mɪn/ |
| Letters | 9 |
| Frequency rank | #50,068 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “metformin” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
metformin is uncommon English at frequency #50,068 among 36,575 “M” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /mɛtˈfɔː.mɪn/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A biguanide derivative, C₄H₁₁N₅, used, now chiefly as the hydrochloride, as an oral hypoglycemic agent in the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus; 1,1-dimethylbiguanide.".
No generated misspelling entries exist for metformin in our index, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. Our dataset records no confusable match here, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.
Etymologically, the entry records: From meth- + -formin (“phenformin derivative”). The correct English form is metformin, spelled M-E-T-F-O-R-M-I-N.
Definition
- 1A biguanide derivative, C₄H₁₁N₅, used, now chiefly as the hydrochloride, as an oral hypoglycemic agent in the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus; 1,1-dimethylbiguanide.
Etymology
From meth- + -formin (“phenformin derivative”).
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.
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 May 6, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "metformin", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency 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.