phagocytosis
/ˌfeɪ.ɡəʊ.saɪˈtəʊ.sɪs/
"phagocytosis" is a 12-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“phagocytosis” is uncommon English (frequency #78,017 among 46,516 “P” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #78,017
- frequency rank, English
- 46,516
- “P” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A form of endocytosis in which a cell incorporates a particle by extending pseudopodia and drawing the particle into a vacuole of its cytoplasm.
Corpus desk
Index EN-phagocytosis · phagocytosis · English
phagocytosis · rank #78,017 · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-RARE #78,017
- LEN-MEGA 12 letters
- VOW-5 5 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-DENSE 46,516
- PHOTO-FINISH Petros
Nearest frequency peer: Petros (-3 rank slots)
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
Frequency neighbourhood for “phagocytosis”
Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)
- pervade
pervade
21,990 corpus weight
- Petros
Petros
21,987 corpus weight
- phagocytosis
phagocytosis
21,984 corpus weight
- pilaf
pilaf
21,979 corpus weight
- pils
pils
21,978 corpus weight
- pinnate
pinnate
21,977 corpus weight
What this shows Bars show where “phagocytosis” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | phagocytosis |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˌfeɪ.ɡəʊ.saɪˈtəʊ.sɪs/ |
| Letters | 12 |
| Frequency rank | #78,017 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “phagocytosis” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
phagocytosis is uncommon English at frequency #78,017 among 46,516 “P” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˌfeɪ.ɡəʊ.saɪˈtəʊ.sɪs/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A form of endocytosis in which a cell incorporates a particle by extending pseudopodia and drawing the particle into a vacuole of its cytoplasm.".
phagocytosis doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. 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 German Phagocytosis; equivalent to phagocyte + -osis; compare French phagocytose. The correct English form is phagocytosis, spelled P-H-A-G-O-C-Y-T-O-S-I-S.
Definition
- 1A form of endocytosis in which a cell incorporates a particle by extending pseudopodia and drawing the particle into a vacuole of its cytoplasm.
Etymology
From German Phagocytosis; equivalent to phagocyte + -osis; compare French phagocytose.
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.
PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of May 6, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you spell "phagocytosis"?
What does "phagocytosis" mean?
How do you pronounce "phagocytosis"?
What is the origin of the word "phagocytosis"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "phagocytosis", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 12 letters (nearest by frequency 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.