nucleotide

/ˈn(j)u(ː)kliəˌtaɪd/

//ˈn(j)u(ː)kliəˌtaɪd// noun

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

"nucleotide" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“nucleotide” has 14 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #29,016. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#29,016
frequency rank, English
1,534
“N” headwords
14
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The monomer constituting DNA or RNA biopolymer molecules. Each nucleotide consists of a nitrogenous heterocyclic base (or nucleobase), which can be either a double-ringed purine or a single-ringed ...

Corpus desk

Index EN-nucleotide · nucleotide · English

nucleotide · rank #29,016 · 14 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #29,016
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 14 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,534
  • PHOTO-FINISH normalize

Nearest frequency peer: normalize (-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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “nucleotide”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “nucleotide” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for nucleotide
PropertyValue
Headwordnucleotide
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈn(j)u(ː)kliəˌtaɪd/
Letters10
Frequency rank#29,016
Misspellings tracked14
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “nucleotide”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).nucleotidelands here:

#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. Same rarity band neighbours include “normalize” (#29,015), “NOLA” (#29,014), “nix” (#29,013). Among 1,534 “N” headwords, “nucleotide” is #29,016. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 14 spelling variants around nucleotide (IPA /ˈn(j)u(ː)kliəˌtaɪd/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #29,016 among 1,534 “N” headwords. Dominant gloss: "The monomer constituting DNA or RNA biopolymer molecules. Each nucleotide consists of a nitrogenous heterocyclic base (or nucleobase), which can be either a double-ringed purine or a single-ringed ...".

Our generated misspelling index lists 14 likely wrong-spelling variants for nucleotide, with forms such as "nculeotide", "nnucleotide", and "nuccleotide". 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 is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From nucleo- (“relating to the nucleus”) + -ide (“chemical suffix”). The correct English form is nucleotide, spelled N-U-C-L-E-O-T-I-D-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    The monomer constituting DNA or RNA biopolymer molecules. Each nucleotide consists of a nitrogenous heterocyclic base (or nucleobase), which can be either a double-ringed purine or a single-ringed pyrimidine; a five-carbon pentose sugar (deoxyribose in DNA or ribose in RNA); and a phosphate group.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. With a genome of only 400 million or so nucleotide bases, the pufferfish, Fugu rubripes rubripes, has the smallest known genome of any vertebrate animal. […] But the region of DNA between the landmarks can be a million or more nucleotides long.
  2. Magid draws […] a diagram depicting a restriction enzyme cutting neatly through a sequence of nucleotides.

Etymology

From nucleo- (“relating to the nucleus”) + -ide (“chemical suffix”).

This word in other languages

nucleótido(Español)nucléotide(Français)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • nculeotide
  • nnucleotide
  • nuccleotide
  • nucelotide
  • nucleoitde
  • nucleotdie
  • nucleotidde
  • nucleotied
  • nucleottide
  • nucletoide
  • nuclleotide
  • nucloetide
  • nulceotide
  • uncleotide

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of nucleotide - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

nculeotide2nnucleotide1nuccleotide1nucelotide2nucleoitde2nucleotdie2nucleotidde1nucleotied2
Edit distance from "nucleotide"

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 "nucleotide"?
"nucleotide" is spelled N-U-C-L-E-O-T-I-D-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈn(j)u(ː)kliəˌtaɪd/.
What does "nucleotide" mean?
As a noun, "nucleotide" means: The monomer constituting DNA or RNA biopolymer molecules. Each nucleotide consists of a nitrogenous heterocyclic base (or nucleobase), which can be either a double-ringed purine or a single-ringed ...
What are common misspellings of "nucleotide"?
Common misspellings include "nculeotide", "nnucleotide", "nuccleotide", "nucelotide", "nucleoitde". The correct spelling is "nucleotide".
How do you pronounce "nucleotide"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "nucleotide" is /ˈn(j)u(ː)kliəˌtaɪd/. 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 "nucleotide"?
From nucleo- (“relating to the nucleus”) + -ide (“chemical suffix”). 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 "nucleotide", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 10 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

overworked#29,027monolithic#29,002militarily#28,995metastatic#28,992

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (14 here; floor ≥5).

positional14 variantsracecourse14 variantsreflector14 variantsinvalidate14 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list