phimosis

/fʌɪˈməʊ.sɪs/

//fʌɪˈməʊ.sɪs// noun

"phimosis" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“phimosis” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
8
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A contraction of the foreskin (either as a stage of development or a pathological condition), which prevents it from being retracted.

Key facts for phimosis
PropertyValue
Headwordphimosis
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/fʌɪˈməʊ.sɪs/
Letters8
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “phimosis” sits in English frequency

phimosis falls outside the top-100,000 ranked English words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

phimosis is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /fʌɪˈməʊ.sɪs/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A contraction of the foreskin (either as a stage of development or a pathological condition), which prevents it from being retracted.".

Zero misspellings are on record for phimosis in our index, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. Our dataset records no confusable match here, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Ancient Greek φίμωσις (phímōsis, “muzzling; contraction of the prepuce”), from φῑμόω (phīmóō, “to muzzle”) + -σις (-sis, nominal suffix). The correct English form is phimosis, spelled P-H-I-M-O-S-I-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    A contraction of the foreskin (either as a stage of development or a pathological condition), which prevents it from being retracted.

Etymology

From Ancient Greek φίμωσις (phímōsis, “muzzling; contraction of the prepuce”), from φῑμόω (phīmóō, “to muzzle”) + -σις (-sis, nominal suffix).

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). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "phimosis"?
"phimosis" is spelled P-H-I-M-O-S-I-S. The IPA pronunciation is /fʌɪˈməʊ.sɪs/.
What does "phimosis" mean?
As a noun, "phimosis" means: A contraction of the foreskin (either as a stage of development or a pathological condition), which prevents it from being retracted.
How do you pronounce "phimosis"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "phimosis" is /fʌɪˈməʊ.sɪs/. 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 "phimosis"?
From Ancient Greek φίμωσις (phímōsis, “muzzling; contraction of the prepuce”), from φῑμόω (phīmóō, “to muzzle”) + -σις (-sis, nominal suffix). 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 “phimosis”

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

  • The one correct English spelling is P-H-I-M-O-S-I-S - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /fʌɪˈməʊ.sɪs/ (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
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