particle
/ˈpɑːtɪk(ə)l/
"particle" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“particle” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #8,326 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #8,326
- frequency rank, English
- 8
- letters
- 12
- tracked misspellings
- 3
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A very small piece of matter, a fragment; especially, the smallest possible part of something.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | particle |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈpɑːtɪk(ə)l/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #8,326 |
| Misspellings tracked | 12 |
| Confusable pairs | 3 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “particle” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for particle is 8 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈpɑːtɪk(ə)l/. Corpus data places it at rank #8,326 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 6 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for particle, with forms such as "aprticle", "paritcle", and "parrticle". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 3 confusable-pair relationships, "particles", "partial", "participle", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle French particule, and its source, Latin particula (“small part, particle”), diminutive of pars (“part, piece”). The correct English form is particle, spelled P-A-R-T-I-C-L-E.
Definition
- 1A very small piece of matter, a fragment; especially, the smallest possible part of something.
- 2Any of various physical objects making up the constituent parts of an atom; an elementary particle or subatomic particle.
- 3A part of speech that has no inherent lexical definition but must be associated with another word to impart meaning, often a grammatical category: for example, the English word to in a full infinitive phrase (to eat) or O in a vocative phrase (O Canada), or as a discourse marker (mmm).
- 4A part of speech which cannot be inflected.
- 5In the Roman Catholic church, a crumb of consecrated bread; also the smaller breads used in the communion of the laity.
- 6A little bit.
Etymology
From Middle French particule, and its source, Latin particula (“small part, particle”), diminutive of pars (“part, piece”).
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: aprticle,paritcle,parrticle,partcile,particcle,particel,particlle,partilce,partticle,patricle,pparticle,praticle
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of particle - 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.
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 “particle”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is P-A-R-T-I-C-L-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈpɑːtɪk(ə)l/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “particles” - see the side-by-side comparison. particle vs particles
- 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.