phototaxis
noun
phototaxis is spelled P-H-O-T-O-T-A-X-I-S: 10 letters and 4 syllables. It appears about once in every 54 million words in written English, the 228,409th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, phototaxis means “The movement of an organism either towards or away from a source of light” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of phototaxis is phototaxes.
How many letters and syllables are in phototaxis?
| Letters | 10: P-H-O-T-O-T-A-X-I-S |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 54 million words; the 228,409th 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 phototaxis?
Phototaxis appears about once in every 54 million words in written English, the 228,409th 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 phototaxis?
Phototaxis has 4 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).
Forms of phototaxis
- phototaxes plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does phototaxis mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The movement of an organism either towards or away from a source of light
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Phototaxis in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense movement of an organism either towards or away from a source of light:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | phototaxie |
| German | Phototaxis |
| Spanish | fototaxis |
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 phototaxis come from?
From photo- + taxis.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).