phosphoric
"phosphoric" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“phosphoric” is uncommon English (frequency #54,396 among 46,516 “P” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #54,396
- frequency rank, English
- 46,516
- “P” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Pertaining to the element phosphorus; containing phosphorus, especially in its higher valency (5).
Corpus desk
Index EN-phosphoric · phosphoric · English
phosphoric · rank #54,396 · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-RARE #54,396
- LEN-MEGA 10 letters
- VOW-3 3 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-DENSE 46,516
- PHOTO-FINISH petunia
Nearest frequency peer: petunia (-1 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 “phosphoric”
Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)
- Perera
Perera
45,608 corpus weight
- perpetrate
perpetrate
45,607 corpus weight
- petunia
petunia
45,606 corpus weight
- phosphoric
phosphoric
45,605 corpus weight
- Piney
Piney
45,603 corpus weight
- ponting
ponting
45,600 corpus weight
What this shows Bars show where “phosphoric” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | phosphoric |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| Letters | 10 |
| Frequency rank | #54,396 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “phosphoric” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
phosphoric is uncommon English at frequency #54,396 among 46,516 “P” headwords, classed as anadjective. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
phosphoric doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.
Etymologically, the entry records: From phosphor + -ic. The correct English form is phosphoric, spelled P-H-O-S-P-H-O-R-I-C.
Definition
- 1Pertaining to the element phosphorus; containing phosphorus, especially in its higher valency (5).
- 2Pertaining to a phosphor; phosphorescent.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how phosphoric appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
An old man to whom a few drops of phosphoric ether had been administered experienced repeated and imperious venereal wants.
I refer to the light in the tail of a glow-worm […] first, that it is phosphoric; secondly, that its use is to attract the male insect.
Etymology
From phosphor + -ic.
Synonyms
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 "phosphoric"?
What does "phosphoric" mean?
What is the origin of the word "phosphoric"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "phosphoric", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 10 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.