pharmacy
/ˈfɑːməsi/
"pharmacy" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“pharmacy” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #8,706 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #8,706
- frequency rank, English
- 8
- letters
- 13
- tracked misspellings
- 1
- confusable pair
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A place where prescription drugs are sold or dispensed.
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 | pharmacy |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈfɑːməsi/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #8,706 |
| Misspellings tracked | 13 |
| Confusable pairs | 1 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “pharmacy” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for pharmacy is 8 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈfɑːməsi/. Corpus data places it at rank #8,706 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 13 likely wrong-spelling variants for pharmacy, with forms such as "hparmacy", "pahrmacy", and "phamracy". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "pharma", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English pharmacy, borrowed from Middle French pharmacie (“the art of creating drugs; a drug, especially a laxative”), from Old French farmacie, from Medieval Latin pharmacia, from Ancient Greek φαρμακεία (pharmakeía, “the use of drugs”), from φά… The correct English form is pharmacy, spelled P-H-A-R-M-A-C-Y.
Definition
- 1A place where prescription drugs are sold or dispensed.
- 2The science of medicinal substances, inclusive of pharmaceutics, pharmaceutical chemistry, pharmacology, phytochemistry, and forensics.
- 3The role or occupation of a pharmacist.
Etymology
From Middle English pharmacy, borrowed from Middle French pharmacie (“the art of creating drugs; a drug, especially a laxative”), from Old French farmacie, from Medieval Latin pharmacia, from Ancient Greek φαρμακεία (pharmakeía, “the use of drugs”), from φάρμακον (phármakon, “a drug, charm, enchantment”), of uncertain but likely Pre-Greek origin. Attested since late 14th century.
Synonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: hparmacy,pahrmacy,phamracy,pharamcy,pharmaccy,pharmacyy,pharmayc,pharmcay,pharmmacy,pharrmacy,phharmacy,phramacy,ppharmacy
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of pharmacy - 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
How do you spell "pharmacy"?
What does "pharmacy" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "pharmacy"?
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What is the origin of the word "pharmacy"?
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Using “pharmacy”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is P-H-A-R-M-A-C-Y - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈfɑːməsi/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “pharma” - see the side-by-side comparison. pharmacy vs pharma
- 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.