percutaneous

/pɜːkjuːˈteɪnɪəs/

//pɜːkjuːˈteɪnɪəs// adj

"percutaneous" is a 12-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“percutaneous” is uncommon English (frequency #55,011 among 46,516 “P” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#55,011
frequency rank, English
46,516
“P” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Taking place through the skin and involving a puncture thereof.

Key facts for percutaneous
PropertyValue
Headwordpercutaneous
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/pɜːkjuːˈteɪnɪəs/
Letters12
Frequency rank#55,011
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “percutaneous” 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). percutaneous 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

percutaneous is uncommon English at frequency #55,011 among 46,516 “P” headwords, classed as anadjective, transcribed /pɜːkjuːˈteɪnɪəs/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Taking place through the skin and involving a puncture thereof.".

No generated misspelling entries exist for percutaneous in our index, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

Etymologically, the entry records: From per- + cutaneous. The correct English form is percutaneous, spelled P-E-R-C-U-T-A-N-E-O-U-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    Taking place through the skin and involving a puncture thereof.

Etymology

From per- + cutaneous.

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 "percutaneous"?
"percutaneous" is spelled P-E-R-C-U-T-A-N-E-O-U-S. The IPA pronunciation is /pɜːkjuːˈteɪnɪəs/.
What does "percutaneous" mean?
As an adjective, "percutaneous" means: Taking place through the skin and involving a puncture thereof.
How do you pronounce "percutaneous"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "percutaneous" is /pɜːkjuːˈteɪnɪəs/. 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 "percutaneous"?
From per- + cutaneous. 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 “percutaneous”

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

  • The one correct English spelling is P-E-R-C-U-T-A-N-E-O-U-S - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /pɜːkjuːˈteɪnɪəs/ (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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list