# phantom

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈfæntəm/ · frequency rank #9,936

## Definitions
1. A ghost or apparition.
2. Something apparently seen, heard, or sensed, but having no physical reality; an image that appears only in the mind; an illusion or delusion.
3. A placeholder for a pair of players when there are an odd number of pairs playing.
4. A test object that reproduces the characteristics of human tissue.
5. Short for phantom power

## Etymology
Inherited from Middle English fantome, fanteme, from Old French fantosme, fantasme, from Latin phantasma (“an apparition, specter; (in Late Latin also) appearance, image”), from Ancient Greek φάντασμα (phántasma, “phantasm, an appearance, image, apparition, specter”), from φαντάζω (phantázō, “I make visible”). Doublet of phantasm.

## Easily confused with
- **phenom** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/phantom-vs-phenom)

## Common misspellings (11)
`hpantom`, `pahntom`, `phanntom`, `phanotm`, `phantmo`, `phantomm`, `phanttom`, `phatnom`, `phhantom`, `phnatom`, `pphantom`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/phantom