omicron

/ˈɒmɪkɹɒn/

//ˈɒmɪkɹɒn// noun

"omicron" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“omicron” is an uncommon English word, ranked #63,118 in English word frequency and used as a noun.

#63,118
frequency rank, English
7
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The 15th letter of the Classical and Modern Greek alphabets (16th in Ancient and Old Greek), used in ordering lists as in naming (astronomy) the 15th star of a constellation or (epidemiology) the 1...

Key facts for omicron
PropertyValue
Headwordomicron
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈɒmɪkɹɒn/
Letters7
Frequency rank#63,118
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “omicron” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). omicron lands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for omicron is 7 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈɒmɪkɹɒn/. Corpus data places it at rank #63,118 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "The 15th letter of the Classical and Modern Greek alphabets (16th in Ancient and Old Greek), used in ordering lists as in naming (astronomy) the 15th star of a constellation or (epidemiology) the 1...".

omicron doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Latin omicron, from Koine Greek ὂ μῑκρόν (ò mīkrón, “little o”), named in contrast with omega (“big o”). The uncommon form omicra is similarly borrowed from Latin and Greek. The use for designating stars in a constellation—typically in order of apparen… The correct English form is omicron, spelled O-M-I-C-R-O-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    The 15th letter of the Classical and Modern Greek alphabets (16th in Ancient and Old Greek), used in ordering lists as in naming (astronomy) the 15th star of a constellation or (epidemiology) the 15th discovered major variant of a disease.

Etymology

From Latin omicron, from Koine Greek ὂ μῑκρόν (ò mīkrón, “little o”), named in contrast with omega (“big o”). The uncommon form omicra is similarly borrowed from Latin and Greek. The use for designating stars in a constellation—typically in order of apparent brightness—began with Johann Bayer's 1603 Uranometria.

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 "omicron"?
"omicron" is spelled O-M-I-C-R-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈɒmɪkɹɒn/.
What does "omicron" mean?
As a noun, "omicron" means: The 15th letter of the Classical and Modern Greek alphabets (16th in Ancient and Old Greek), used in ordering lists as in naming (astronomy) the 15th star of a constellation or (epidemiology) the 1...
How do you pronounce "omicron"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "omicron" is /ˈɒmɪkɹɒn/. 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 "omicron"?
From Latin omicron, from Koine Greek ὂ μῑκρόν (ò mīkrón, “little o”), named in contrast with omega (“big o”). The uncommon form omicra is similarly borrowed from Latin and Greek. The use for designating stars in a constellation—typically in order ... 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.

Using “omicron”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is O-M-I-C-R-O-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /ˈɒmɪkɹɒn/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list