nucleoside
/ˈn(j)u(ː)kliəˌsaɪd/
"nucleoside" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“nucleoside” is uncommon English (frequency #71,747 among 24,391 “N” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #71,747
- frequency rank, English
- 24,391
- “N” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - an organic molecule in which a nitrogenous heterocyclic base (or nucleobase), which can be either a double-ringed purine or a single-ringed pyrimidine, is covalently attached to a five-carbon pento...
Corpus desk
Index EN-nucleoside · nucleoside · English
nucleoside · rank #71,747 · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-RARE #71,747
- LEN-MEGA 10 letters
- VOW-5 5 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-DENSE 24,391
- PHOTO-FINISH nubile
Nearest frequency peer: nubile (-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.
Frequency neighbourhood for “nucleoside”
Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)
- NPO
NPO
28,260 corpus weight
- NSL
NSL
28,258 corpus weight
- nubile
nubile
28,255 corpus weight
- nucleoside
nucleoside
28,254 corpus weight
- O'Donovan
O'Donovan
28,251 corpus weight
- octet
octet
28,249 corpus weight
What this shows Bars show where “nucleoside” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | nucleoside |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈn(j)u(ː)kliəˌsaɪd/ |
| Letters | 10 |
| Frequency rank | #71,747 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “nucleoside” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
nucleoside is uncommon English at frequency #71,747 among 24,391 “N” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈn(j)u(ː)kliəˌsaɪd/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "an organic molecule in which a nitrogenous heterocyclic base (or nucleobase), which can be either a double-ringed purine or a single-ringed pyrimidine, is covalently attached to a five-carbon pento...".
nucleoside has no tracked misspelling variants, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
Etymologically, the entry records: Probably from nucleo- + (glyc)oside. The correct English form is nucleoside, spelled N-U-C-L-E-O-S-I-D-E.
Definition
- 1an organic molecule in which a nitrogenous heterocyclic base (or nucleobase), which can be either a double-ringed purine or a single-ringed pyrimidine, is covalently attached to a five-carbon pentose sugar (deoxyribose in DNA or ribose in RNA). When the phosphate group is covalently attached to the pentose sugar, it forms a nucleotide.
Etymology
Probably from nucleo- + (glyc)oside.
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.
PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of May 6, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you spell "nucleoside"?
What does "nucleoside" mean?
How do you pronounce "nucleoside"?
What is the origin of the word "nucleoside"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "nucleoside", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 10 letters (nearest by frequency 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.