neutron
/ˈn(j)uː.tɹɒn/
"neutron" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“neutron” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #16,282 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #16,282
- frequency rank, English
- 7
- letters
- 10
- tracked misspellings
- 4
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A subatomic particle forming part of the nucleus of an atom and having no charge; it is a combination of an up quark and two down quarks.
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 | neutron |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈn(j)uː.tɹɒn/ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Frequency rank | #16,282 |
| Misspellings tracked | 10 |
| Confusable pairs | 4 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “neutron” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for neutron is 7 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈn(j)uː.tɹɒn/. Corpus data places it at rank #16,282 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "A subatomic particle forming part of the nucleus of an atom and having no charge; it is a combination of an up quark and two down quarks.".
Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for neutron, with forms such as "enutron", "neturon", and "neurton". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 4 confusable-pair relationships, "newton", "neuron", "neutral", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.
Etymologically, the entry records: From neutral + -on; by surface analysis, neutr(o)- + -on. Coined by Scottish-Australian physicist William Sutherland in 1899 in a paper in the Philosophical Magazine. Subsequent usage was sporadic and theoretical, sometimes referring to neutrinos rather tha… The correct English form is neutron, spelled N-E-U-T-R-O-N.
Definition
- 1A subatomic particle forming part of the nucleus of an atom and having no charge; it is a combination of an up quark and two down quarks.
Etymology
From neutral + -on; by surface analysis, neutr(o)- + -on. Coined by Scottish-Australian physicist William Sutherland in 1899 in a paper in the Philosophical Magazine. Subsequent usage was sporadic and theoretical, sometimes referring to neutrinos rather than neutrons, and the modern sense was reintroduced alongside proton by Ernest Rutherford in 1920.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: enutron,neturon,neurton,neutorn,neutrno,neutronn,neutrron,neuttron,nneutron,nuetron
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of neutron - 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
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Using “neutron”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is N-E-U-T-R-O-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈn(j)uː.tɹɒn/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “newton” - see the side-by-side comparison. neutron vs newton
- 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.