oncogene
/ˈɒŋkə(ʊ)dʒiːn/
"oncogene" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“oncogene” is uncommon English (frequency #67,703 among 1,431 “O” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #67,703
- frequency rank, English
- 1,431
- “O” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Any gene that contributes to the conversion of a normal cell into a cancerous cell when mutated or expressed at high levels.
Corpus desk
Index EN-oncogene · oncogene · English
oncogene · rank #67,703 · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-RARE #67,703
- LEN-LONG 8 letters
- VOW-4 4 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-MID 1,431
- PHOTO-FINISH ontologies
Nearest frequency peer: ontologies (+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 “oncogene”
Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter
- oceanograph…
oceanographer
32,304 corpus weight
- offscreen
offscreen
32,303 corpus weight
- ohana
ohana
32,301 corpus weight
- OIS
OIS
32,300 corpus weight
- oncogene
oncogene
32,298 corpus weight
- ontologies
ontologies
32,297 corpus weight
What this shows Long-tail view: where “oncogene” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | oncogene |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈɒŋkə(ʊ)dʒiːn/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #67,703 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “oncogene” in English
Rare enough to double-check
oncogene is uncommon English at frequency #67,703 among 1,431 “O” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈɒŋkə(ʊ)dʒiːn/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Any gene that contributes to the conversion of a normal cell into a cancerous cell when mutated or expressed at high levels.".
oncogene has no tracked misspelling variants, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.
Etymologically, the entry records: From onco- + gene. The correct English form is oncogene, spelled O-N-C-O-G-E-N-E.
Definition
- 1Any gene that contributes to the conversion of a normal cell into a cancerous cell when mutated or expressed at high levels.
Recorded use
Wiktionary exampleThese source excerpts show how oncogene appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
It was obvious from the start what kinds of genes oncogenes would turn out to be – genes that encourage cells to grow.
Etymology
From onco- + gene.
This word in other languages
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
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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "oncogene", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).