organelle

/ˌɔɹ.ɡənˈɛl/

//ˌɔɹ.ɡənˈɛl// noun

"organelle" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“organelle” is uncommon English (frequency #81,653 among 1,431 “O” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#81,653
frequency rank, English
1,431
“O” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A specialized structure found inside cells that carries out a specific life process (e.g. ribosomes, vacuoles).

Corpus desk

Index EN-organelle · organelle · English

organelle · rank #81,653 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #81,653
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,431
  • PHOTO-FINISH oratorical

Nearest frequency peer: oratorical (-2 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 “organelle”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for organelle
PropertyValue
Headwordorganelle
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˌɔɹ.ɡənˈɛl/
Letters9
Frequency rank#81,653
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “organelle” in English

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).organellefalls in this rarity band:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “oratorical” (#81,651), “ossified” (#81,655), “ostentatiously” (#81,656). Among 1,431 “O” headwords, “organelle” is #81,653. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

organelle is uncommon English at frequency #81,653 among 1,431 “O” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˌɔɹ.ɡənˈɛl/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A specialized structure found inside cells that carries out a specific life process (e.g. ribosomes, vacuoles).".

organelle has no tracked misspelling variants, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. Our dataset records no confusable match here, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

Etymologically, the entry records: From organ + -elle. The correct English form is organelle, spelled O-R-G-A-N-E-L-L-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A specialized structure found inside cells that carries out a specific life process (e.g. ribosomes, vacuoles).

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Like organelles within a single cell, whole new specializations began to develop.
  2. The close analogies between DNA-containing eukaryotic cell organelles and microbial symbionts require revision of classic cell theory, wrote Scwemmler and Schenk (1980) on introducing the field of endocytobiology.

Etymology

From organ + -elle.

Synonyms

organellaorganelle

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

How do you spell "organelle"?
"organelle" is spelled O-R-G-A-N-E-L-L-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˌɔɹ.ɡənˈɛl/.
What does "organelle" mean?
As a noun, "organelle" means: A specialized structure found inside cells that carries out a specific life process (e.g. ribosomes, vacuoles).
How do you pronounce "organelle"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "organelle" is /ˌɔɹ.ɡənˈɛl/. 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 "organelle"?
From organ + -elle. 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 "organelle", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list