neoprene
/ˈniɵpɹin/
"neoprene" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“neoprene” is uncommon English (frequency #50,100 among 24,391 “N” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #50,100
- frequency rank, English
- 24,391
- “N” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A synthetic rubber, a polymer of chloroprene, commonly used in wetsuits, laptop sleeves, orthopedic braces, electrical insulation, liquid and sheet-applied elastomeric membranes and flashings, car ...
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | neoprene |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈniɵpɹin/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #50,100 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “neoprene” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
neoprene is uncommon English at frequency #50,100 among 24,391 “N” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈniɵpɹin/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A synthetic rubber, a polymer of chloroprene, commonly used in wetsuits, laptop sleeves, orthopedic braces, electrical insulation, liquid and sheet-applied elastomeric membranes and flashings, car ...".
Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for neoprene, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
Etymologically, the entry records: US, 1930s; genericized trademark for DuPont brand of polychloroprene. neo- (“new”) + isoprene (dropping the iso-), the latter from terpene. Originally called duprene (blend of DuPont and isoprene); the “new” is because neoprene was the first mass-produced g… The correct English form is neoprene, spelled N-E-O-P-R-E-N-E.
Definition
- 1A synthetic rubber, a polymer of chloroprene, commonly used in wetsuits, laptop sleeves, orthopedic braces, electrical insulation, liquid and sheet-applied elastomeric membranes and flashings, car fan belts, etc.
Etymology
US, 1930s; genericized trademark for DuPont brand of polychloroprene. neo- (“new”) + isoprene (dropping the iso-), the latter from terpene. Originally called duprene (blend of DuPont and isoprene); the “new” is because neoprene was the first mass-produced general-purpose synthetic rubber.
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
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Using “neoprene”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is N-E-O-P-R-E-N-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈniɵpɹin/ (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
Other uncommon English words near this 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.