palindrome

/ˈpælɪndɹəʊm/

//ˈpælɪndɹəʊm// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

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

The verdict

“palindrome” is uncommon English (frequency #77,990 among 46,516 “P” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#77,990
frequency rank, English
46,516
“P” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A word, phrase, number or any other sequence of units which has the property of reading the same forwards as it does backwards, character for character, sometimes disregarding punctuation, capitali...

Key facts for palindrome
PropertyValue
Headwordpalindrome
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈpælɪndɹəʊm/
Letters10
Frequency rank#77,990
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “palindrome” 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). palindrome lands here:

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

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

Rare enough to double-check

palindrome is uncommon English at frequency #77,990 among 46,516 “P” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈpælɪndɹəʊm/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 4 senses are on record.

No generated misspelling entries exist for palindrome in our index, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Ancient Greek παλίνδρομος (palíndromos, “running back again”), from πάλιν (pálin, “back, again, back again”) + δρόμος (drómos, “running, race, racecourse”). By surface analysis, palin- + -drome (compare also velodrome and syndrome). The correct English form is palindrome, spelled P-A-L-I-N-D-R-O-M-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A word, phrase, number or any other sequence of units which has the property of reading the same forwards as it does backwards, character for character, sometimes disregarding punctuation, capitalization and diacritics.
  2. 2
    A poetic form in which the sequence of words reads the same in either direction.
  3. 3
    A sequence of items that follows the same pattern both forwards and backwards.
  4. 4
    A stretch of DNA in which the sequence of nucleotides on one strand are in the reverse order to that of the complementary strand

Etymology

From Ancient Greek παλίνδρομος (palíndromos, “running back again”), from πάλιν (pálin, “back, again, back again”) + δρόμος (drómos, “running, race, racecourse”). By surface analysis, palin- + -drome (compare also velodrome and syndrome).

This word in other languages

palíndromo(Español)palindrome(Français)Palindrom(Deutsch)palíndromo(Português)

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 "palindrome"?
"palindrome" is spelled P-A-L-I-N-D-R-O-M-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈpælɪndɹəʊm/.
What does "palindrome" mean?
As a noun, "palindrome" means: A word, phrase, number or any other sequence of units which has the property of reading the same forwards as it does backwards, character for character, sometimes disregarding punctuation, capitali...
How do you pronounce "palindrome"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "palindrome" is /ˈpælɪndɹəʊm/. 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 "palindrome"?
From Ancient Greek παλίνδρομος (palíndromos, “running back again”), from πάλιν (pálin, “back, again, back again”) + δρόμος (drómos, “running, race, racecourse”). By surface analysis, palin- + -drome (compare also velodrome and syndrome). 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 “palindrome”

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

  • The one correct English spelling is P-A-L-I-N-D-R-O-M-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /ˈpælɪndɹəʊm/ (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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list