paclitaxel
/ˌpak.lɪˈtak.sɛl/
"paclitaxel" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“paclitaxel” is uncommon English (frequency #78,910 among 46,516 “P” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #78,910
- frequency rank, English
- 46,516
- “P” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A taxane antineoplastic drug C₄₇H₅₁NO₁₄ originally isolated from the bark of the Pacific yew, Taxus brevifolia, but now typically derived as a semisynthetic product of the English yew; it interfere...
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | paclitaxel |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˌpak.lɪˈtak.sɛl/ |
| Letters | 10 |
| Frequency rank | #78,910 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “paclitaxel” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
paclitaxel is uncommon English at frequency #78,910 among 46,516 “P” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˌpak.lɪˈtak.sɛl/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A taxane antineoplastic drug C₄₇H₅₁NO₁₄ originally isolated from the bark of the Pacific yew, Taxus brevifolia, but now typically derived as a semisynthetic product of the English yew; it interfere...".
Zero misspellings are on record for paclitaxel in our index, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Pac(ific yew) + Latin (brevifo)li(a) + -taxel (“alteration of taxol”). The correct English form is paclitaxel, spelled P-A-C-L-I-T-A-X-E-L.
Definition
- 1A taxane antineoplastic drug C₄₇H₅₁NO₁₄ originally isolated from the bark of the Pacific yew, Taxus brevifolia, but now typically derived as a semisynthetic product of the English yew; it interferes with microtubule function and inhibits cell division, and is used in the treatment of some cancers, especially those of the breast and ovary.
Etymology
From Pac(ific yew) + Latin (brevifo)li(a) + -taxel (“alteration of taxol”).
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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Using “paclitaxel”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is P-A-C-L-I-T-A-X-E-L - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˌpak.lɪˈtak.sɛl/ (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
Other uncommon English words near this rank
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.