methotrexate
/ˌmɛθ.əˈtɹɛk.seɪt/
"methotrexate" is a 12-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“methotrexate” is uncommon English (frequency #54,333 among 36,575 “M” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #54,333
- frequency rank, English
- 36,575
- “M” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - An antimetabolite and antifolate drug used in treatment of cancer, autoimmune diseases, and ectopic pregnancies.
Corpus desk
Index EN-methotrexate · methotrexate · English
methotrexate · rank #54,333 · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-RARE #54,333
- LEN-MEGA 12 letters
- VOW-5 5 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-DENSE 36,575
- PHOTO-FINISH Mejia
Nearest frequency peer: Mejia (-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 “methotrexate”
Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)
- McGinn
McGinn
45,672 corpus weight
- medicate
medicate
45,671 corpus weight
- Mejia
Mejia
45,669 corpus weight
- methotrexate
methotrexate
45,668 corpus weight
- Mian
Mian
45,667 corpus weight
- microgravity
microgravity
45,665 corpus weight
What this shows Bars show where “methotrexate” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | methotrexate |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˌmɛθ.əˈtɹɛk.seɪt/ |
| Letters | 12 |
| Frequency rank | #54,333 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “methotrexate” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
methotrexate is uncommon English at frequency #54,333 among 36,575 “M” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˌmɛθ.əˈtɹɛk.seɪt/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "An antimetabolite and antifolate drug used in treatment of cancer, autoimmune diseases, and ectopic pregnancies.".
Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for methotrexate, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.
Etymologically, the entry records: Probably from metho- + tre- (“alteration of pteridine”) + (carbo)x(yl)ate. The correct English form is methotrexate, spelled M-E-T-H-O-T-R-E-X-A-T-E.
Definition
- 1An antimetabolite and antifolate drug used in treatment of cancer, autoimmune diseases, and ectopic pregnancies.
Recorded use
Wiktionary exampleThese source excerpts show how methotrexate appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
One group would be treated with intensive methotrexate dosing, while the other group would be treated with milder and less intensive dosing.
Etymology
Probably from metho- + tre- (“alteration of pteridine”) + (carbo)x(yl)ate.
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 "methotrexate", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 12 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.