napalm
/ˈneɪ.pɑːm/
"napalm" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“napalm” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #35,421 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #35,421
- frequency rank, English
- 6
- letters
- 9
- tracked misspellings
- 8
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A highly flammable, viscous substance, designed to stick to the body while burning, used in warfare as an incendiary especially in wooded areas.
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 | napalm |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈneɪ.pɑːm/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #35,421 |
| Misspellings tracked | 9 |
| Confusable pairs | 8 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “napalm” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for napalm is 6 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈneɪ.pɑːm/. Corpus data places it at rank #35,421 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for napalm, with forms such as "anpalm", "naaplm", and "napallm". 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. It also participates in 8 confusable-pair relationships, "naval", "Nepal", "nasal", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: Formed from na(phthenic) palm(itic) acid, the two original components of the substance. The correct English form is napalm, spelled N-A-P-A-L-M.
Definition
- 1A highly flammable, viscous substance, designed to stick to the body while burning, used in warfare as an incendiary especially in wooded areas.
- 2Anything very incendiary; dynamite.
Etymology
Formed from na(phthenic) palm(itic) acid, the two original components of the substance.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: anpalm,naaplm,napallm,napalmm,napaml,naplam,nappalm,nnapalm,npaalm
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of napalm - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
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
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Using “napalm”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is N-A-P-A-L-M - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈneɪ.pɑːm/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “naval” - see the side-by-side comparison. napalm vs naval
- 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.