NMDA

noun

"nmda" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“NMDA” is uncommon English (frequency #58,887 among 1,534 “N” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#58,887
frequency rank, English
1,534
“N” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Abbreviation of N-Methyl-D-aspartic acid, an amino acid derivative.

Corpus desk

Index EN-nmda · NMDA · English

NMDA · rank #58,887 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #58,887
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,534
  • PHOTO-FINISH nisi

Nearest frequency peer: nisi (-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 “NMDA”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for NMDA
PropertyValue
HeadwordNMDA
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters4
Frequency rank#58,887
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “NMDA” in English

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).NMDAfalls 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: “nisi” (#58,886), “Nosferatu” (#58,888), “Nisbet” (#58,885). Among 1,534 “N” headwords, “NMDA” is #58,887. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

NMDA is uncommon English at frequency #58,887 among 1,534 “N” headwords, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Abbreviation of N-Methyl-D-aspartic acid, an amino acid derivative.".

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for NMDA, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. Our dataset records no confusable match here, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

No documented word history exists for this headword, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct English form is NMDA, spelled N-M-D-A.

Definition

  1. 1
    Abbreviation of N-Methyl-D-aspartic acid, an amino acid derivative.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. At a synaptic level, the axon terminal having to repeatedly release glutamate is the lecturer droning on repetitively; the moment when the postsynaptic threshold is passed and the NMDA receptors first activate is the dendritic spine finally getting it.

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 "NMDA"?
"NMDA" is spelled N-M-D-A.
What does "NMDA" mean?
As a noun, "NMDA" means: Abbreviation of N-Methyl-D-aspartic acid, an amino acid derivative.
What language does "NMDA" come from?
"NMDA" is a English word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
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 "NMDA", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list