phosphoric
adjective
phosphoric is spelled P-H-O-S-P-H-O-R-I-C: 10 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 54,192nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, phosphoric means “Pertaining to the element phosphorus; containing phosphorus, especially in its higher valency (5)” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in phosphoric?
| Letters | 10: P-H-O-S-P-H-O-R-I-C |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 3 million words; the 54,192nd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is phosphoric?
Phosphoric appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 54,192nd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce phosphoric?
- US
Phosphoric has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Flame,_not_lame-phosphoric.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What does phosphoric mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Pertaining to the element phosphorus; containing phosphorus, especially in its higher valency (5).
- 2
Pertaining to a phosphor; phosphorescent.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Phosphoric in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense pertaining to phosphorus:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | phosphorique |
| German | phosphorhaltig |
| Portuguese | fosfórico |
| Spanish | fosfórico |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does phosphoric come from?
From phosphor + -ic.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).