photoelectric

adj

"photoelectric" is a 13-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“photoelectric” is uncommon English (frequency #66,924 among 4,417 “P” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#66,924
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Of or relating to the electric effects of electromagnetic radiation, especially the ejection of an electron from a surface by a photon.

Corpus desk

Index EN-photoelectric · photoelectric · English

photoelectric · rank #66,924 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #66,924
  • LEN-MEGA 13 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH Philemon

Nearest frequency peer: Philemon (-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.

Long-tail ranks near “photoelectric”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “photoelectric” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for photoelectric
PropertyValue
Headwordphotoelectric
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
Letters13
Frequency rank#66,924
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “photoelectric” in English

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).photoelectricfalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Rare peers in the same band: “Philemon” (#66,923), “photosensitive” (#66,925), “Pernod” (#66,921). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “photoelectric” is #66,924. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

photoelectric is uncommon English at frequency #66,924 among 4,417 “P” headwords, classed as anadjective. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Of or relating to the electric effects of electromagnetic radiation, especially the ejection of an electron from a surface by a photon.".

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for photoelectric, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. 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 photo- + electric. The correct English form is photoelectric, spelled P-H-O-T-O-E-L-E-C-T-R-I-C.

Definition

  1. 1
    Of or relating to the electric effects of electromagnetic radiation, especially the ejection of an electron from a surface by a photon.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

These source excerpts show how photoelectric appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Photo-electric beams in advance of each section enable automatic operation of the plant.

Etymology

From photo- + electric.

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.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "photoelectric"?
"photoelectric" is spelled P-H-O-T-O-E-L-E-C-T-R-I-C.
What does "photoelectric" mean?
As an adjective, "photoelectric" means: Of or relating to the electric effects of electromagnetic radiation, especially the ejection of an electron from a surface by a photon.
What is the origin of the word "photoelectric"?
From photo- + electric. 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.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "photoelectric", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 13 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list