olefin

/ˈəʊləfɪn/

//ˈəʊləfɪn// noun

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

"olefin" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“olefin” is uncommon English (frequency #78,891 among 1,431 “O” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#78,891
frequency rank, English
1,431
“O” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Any of a class of unsaturated open-chain hydrocarbons such as ethylene; an alkene with only one carbon-carbon double bond.

Corpus desk

Index EN-olefin · olefin · English

olefin · rank #78,891 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #78,891
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,431
  • PHOTO-FINISH Olicity

Nearest frequency peer: Olicity (+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 “olefin”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for olefin
PropertyValue
Headwordolefin
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈəʊləfɪn/
Letters6
Frequency rank#78,891
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “olefin” 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).olefinfalls 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: “Olicity” (#78,892), “oedema” (#78,888), “Odum” (#78,887). Among 1,431 “O” headwords, “olefin” is #78,891. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

olefin is uncommon English at frequency #78,891 among 1,431 “O” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈəʊləfɪn/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Any of a class of unsaturated open-chain hydrocarbons such as ethylene; an alkene with only one carbon-carbon double bond.".

olefin has no tracked misspelling variants, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. Our dataset records no confusable match here, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: From olefiant, "oil-producing". The correct English form is olefin, spelled O-L-E-F-I-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    Any of a class of unsaturated open-chain hydrocarbons such as ethylene; an alkene with only one carbon-carbon double bond.

Etymology

From olefiant, "oil-producing".

This word in other languages

oléfine(Français)

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 "olefin"?
"olefin" is spelled O-L-E-F-I-N. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈəʊləfɪn/.
What does "olefin" mean?
As a noun, "olefin" means: Any of a class of unsaturated open-chain hydrocarbons such as ethylene; an alkene with only one carbon-carbon double bond.
How do you pronounce "olefin"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "olefin" is /ˈəʊləfɪn/. 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 "olefin"?
From olefiant, "oil-producing". 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 "olefin", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

oedema#78,888Ordway#78,899Nyberg#78,879otitis#78,903

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list