neodymium

/nɪə(ʊ)ˈdɪmɪəm/

//nɪə(ʊ)ˈdɪmɪəm// noun

"neodymium" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“neodymium” is uncommon English (frequency #63,833 among 1,534 “N” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#63,833
frequency rank, English
1,534
“N” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A chemical element (symbol Nd) with an atomic number of 60: a hard, slightly malleable silvery rare earth metal that quickly tarnishes in air and moisture.

Corpus desk

Index EN-neodymium · neodymium · English

neodymium · rank #63,833 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #63,833
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,534
  • PHOTO-FINISH netherworld

Nearest frequency peer: netherworld (+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.

Long-tail ranks near “neodymium”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “neodymium” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for neodymium
PropertyValue
Headwordneodymium
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/nɪə(ʊ)ˈdɪmɪəm/
Letters9
Frequency rank#63,833
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “neodymium” in English

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).neodymiumfalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “netherworld” (#63,834), “Nasrallah” (#63,831), “neuroendocrine” (#63,835). Among 1,534 “N” headwords, “neodymium” is #63,833. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

neodymium is uncommon English at frequency #63,833 among 1,534 “N” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /nɪə(ʊ)ˈdɪmɪəm/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

neodymium has no tracked misspelling variants, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

Etymologically, the entry records: From neo- + (di)dymium. The correct English form is neodymium, spelled N-E-O-D-Y-M-I-U-M.

Definition

  1. 1
    A chemical element (symbol Nd) with an atomic number of 60: a hard, slightly malleable silvery rare earth metal that quickly tarnishes in air and moisture.
  2. 2
    A single atom of this element.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how neodymium appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Other rare elements, like neodymium, exist in more than one isotopic form, the ratios of which can provide a measure of the depth from which the flow material may ultimately have been derived.
  2. The most important application of dysprosium and terbium, which belong to a subgroup known as the heavy rare earths, is in devices called neodymium boron magnets, or neo magnets for short.

Etymology

From neo- + (di)dymium.

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.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "neodymium"?
"neodymium" is spelled N-E-O-D-Y-M-I-U-M. The IPA pronunciation is /nɪə(ʊ)ˈdɪmɪəm/.
What does "neodymium" mean?
As a noun, "neodymium" means: A chemical element (symbol Nd) with an atomic number of 60: a hard, slightly malleable silvery rare earth metal that quickly tarnishes in air and moisture.
How do you pronounce "neodymium"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "neodymium" is /nɪə(ʊ)ˈdɪmɪəm/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "neodymium"?
From neo- + (di)dymium. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "neodymium", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list