outpatient

/ˈaʊtˌpeɪʃ(ə)nt/

//ˈaʊtˌpeɪʃ(ə)nt// noun

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

The verdict

“outpatient” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #19,157 in English word frequency and used as a noun.

#19,157
frequency rank, English
10
letters
14
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A patient who receives treatment at a hospital or clinic but is not admitted overnight; a receiver of ambulatory care.

Key facts for outpatient
PropertyValue
Headwordoutpatient
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈaʊtˌpeɪʃ(ə)nt/
Letters10
Frequency rank#19,157
Misspellings tracked14
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “outpatient” 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). outpatient 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 outpatient is 10 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈaʊtˌpeɪʃ(ə)nt/. Corpus data places it at rank #19,157 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "A patient who receives treatment at a hospital or clinic but is not admitted overnight; a receiver of ambulatory care.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 14 likely wrong-spelling variants for outpatient, with forms such as "otupatient", "ouptatient", and "outaptient". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: From out- + patient. The correct English form is outpatient, spelled O-U-T-P-A-T-I-E-N-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    A patient who receives treatment at a hospital or clinic but is not admitted overnight; a receiver of ambulatory care.

Etymology

From out- + patient.

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: otupatient,ouptatient,outaptient,outpaitent,outpateint,outpatiennt,outpatientt,outpatietn,outpatinet,outpattient,outppatient,outptaient,outtpatient,uotpatient

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of outpatient - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

otupatient2ouptatient2outaptient2outpaitent2outpateint2outpatiennt1outpatientt1outpatietn2
Edit distance from "outpatient"

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 "outpatient"?
"outpatient" is spelled O-U-T-P-A-T-I-E-N-T. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈaʊtˌpeɪʃ(ə)nt/.
What does "outpatient" mean?
As a noun, "outpatient" means: A patient who receives treatment at a hospital or clinic but is not admitted overnight; a receiver of ambulatory care.
What are common misspellings of "outpatient"?
Common misspellings include "otupatient", "ouptatient", "outaptient", "outpaitent", "outpateint". The correct spelling is "outpatient".
How do you pronounce "outpatient"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "outpatient" is /ˈaʊtˌpeɪʃ(ə)nt/. 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 "outpatient"?
From out- + patient. 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 “outpatient”

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

  • The one correct English spelling is O-U-T-P-A-T-I-E-N-T - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /ˈaʊtˌpeɪʃ(ə)nt/ (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