microbiology
/ˌmʌɪkrə(ʊ)bʌɪˈɒlədʒi/
"microbiology" is a 12-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“microbiology” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #21,003 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #21,003
- frequency rank, English
- 12
- letters
- 18
- tracked misspellings
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The branch of biology that deals with microorganisms, especially their effects on man and other living organisms.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | microbiology |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˌmʌɪkrə(ʊ)bʌɪˈɒlədʒi/ |
| Letters | 12 |
| Frequency rank | #21,003 |
| Misspellings tracked | 18 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “microbiology” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for microbiology is 12 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˌmʌɪkrə(ʊ)bʌɪˈɒlədʒi/. Corpus data places it at rank #21,003 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "The branch of biology that deals with microorganisms, especially their effects on man and other living organisms.".
Our generated misspelling index lists 18 likely wrong-spelling variants for microbiology, with forms such as "imcrobiology", "mcirobiology", and "miccrobiology". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: From micro- + biology. The correct English form is microbiology, spelled M-I-C-R-O-B-I-O-L-O-G-Y.
Definition
- 1The branch of biology that deals with microorganisms, especially their effects on man and other living organisms.
Etymology
From micro- + biology.
Synonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: imcrobiology,mcirobiology,miccrobiology,micorbiology,micrboiology,microbbiology,microbiloogy,microbiolgoy,microbiollogy,microbiologgy,microbiologyy,microbioloyg,microbioolgy,microboilogy,microibology,micrrobiology,mircobiology,mmicrobiology
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of microbiology - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.
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 "microbiology"?
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Using “microbiology”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is M-I-C-R-O-B-I-O-L-O-G-Y - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˌmʌɪkrə(ʊ)bʌɪˈɒlədʒi/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
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.