nitrile

/ˈnaɪtɹaɪl/

//ˈnaɪtɹaɪl// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"nitrile" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“nitrile” is uncommon English (frequency #66,874 among 1,534 “N” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#66,874
frequency rank, English
1,534
“N” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Any of a class of organic compounds containing a cyano functional group −C≡N; they are named as derivatives of the appropriate carboxylic acid.

Corpus desk

Index EN-nitrile · nitrile · English

nitrile · rank #66,874 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #66,874
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,534
  • PHOTO-FINISH nipper

Nearest frequency peer: nipper (-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 “nitrile”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for nitrile
PropertyValue
Headwordnitrile
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈnaɪtɹaɪl/
Letters7
Frequency rank#66,874
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “nitrile” in English

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).nitrilefalls in this rarity band:

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Rare peers in the same band: “nipper” (#66,873), “NKJV” (#66,875), “noblesse” (#66,877). Among 1,534 “N” headwords, “nitrile” is #66,874. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

nitrile is uncommon English at frequency #66,874 among 1,534 “N” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈnaɪtɹaɪl/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for nitrile, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

Etymologically, the entry records: Derived from benzonitrile which contains the −C≡N group. Benzonitrile was discovered and named by Hermann Fehling in 1844. The correct English form is nitrile, spelled N-I-T-R-I-L-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Any of a class of organic compounds containing a cyano functional group −C≡N; they are named as derivatives of the appropriate carboxylic acid.
  2. 2
    A type of synthetic rubber formed by the copolymerization of acrylonitrile and butadiene: nitrile rubber.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. Sitting in a box under my bed are the nitrile gloves that I bought to practise with my forensic kit.

Etymology

Derived from benzonitrile which contains the −C≡N group. Benzonitrile was discovered and named by Hermann Fehling in 1844.

This word in other languages

nitrilo(Español)nitrile(Français)Nitril(Deutsch)

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 "nitrile"?
"nitrile" is spelled N-I-T-R-I-L-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈnaɪtɹaɪl/.
What does "nitrile" mean?
As a noun, "nitrile" means: Any of a class of organic compounds containing a cyano functional group −C≡N; they are named as derivatives of the appropriate carboxylic acid.
How do you pronounce "nitrile"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "nitrile" is /ˈnaɪtɹaɪl/. 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 "nitrile"?
Derived from benzonitrile which contains the −C≡N group. Benzonitrile was discovered and named by Hermann Fehling in 1844. 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 "nitrile", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

montane#66,846overeat#66,909Marxian#66,820pincers#66,931

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list