nitrocellulose

noun

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

"nitrocellulose" is a 14-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“nitrocellulose” is uncommon English (frequency #78,870 among 1,534 “N” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#78,870
frequency rank, English
1,534
“N” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A cotton-like material, made from cellulose by the action of nitric and sulphuric acids, used in the manufacture of explosives, collodion etc.

Corpus desk

Index EN-nitrocellulose · nitrocellulose · English

nitrocellulose · rank #78,870 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #78,870
  • LEN-MEGA 14 letters
  • VOW-6 6 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,534
  • PHOTO-FINISH Nicaea

Nearest frequency peer: Nicaea (-3 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 “nitrocellulose”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for nitrocellulose
PropertyValue
Headwordnitrocellulose
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters14
Frequency rank#78,870
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “nitrocellulose” 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).nitrocellulosefalls in this rarity band:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Rare peers in the same band: “Nicaea” (#78,867), “nonconformity” (#78,873), “NHI” (#78,866). Among 1,534 “N” headwords, “nitrocellulose” is #78,870. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

nitrocellulose is uncommon English at frequency #78,870 among 1,534 “N” headwords, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A cotton-like material, made from cellulose by the action of nitric and sulphuric acids, used in the manufacture of explosives, collodion etc.".

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for nitrocellulose, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. Our dataset records no confusable match here, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.

Etymologically, the entry records: From nitro- + cellulose. The correct English form is nitrocellulose, spelled N-I-T-R-O-C-E-L-L-U-L-O-S-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A cotton-like material, made from cellulose by the action of nitric and sulphuric acids, used in the manufacture of explosives, collodion etc.

Etymology

From nitro- + cellulose.

This word in other languages

nitrocelulosa(Español)nitrocellulose(Français)Schießbaumwolle(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 "nitrocellulose"?
"nitrocellulose" is spelled N-I-T-R-O-C-E-L-L-U-L-O-S-E.
What does "nitrocellulose" mean?
As a noun, "nitrocellulose" means: A cotton-like material, made from cellulose by the action of nitric and sulphuric acids, used in the manufacture of explosives, collodion etc.
What is the origin of the word "nitrocellulose"?
From nitro- + cellulose. 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 "nitrocellulose", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 14 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

parapsychology#78,918photorealistic#78,937presupposition#78,955stoichiometric#79,086

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list