pneumothorax

/ˈnjuː.məʊˌθɔ.ɹæks/

//ˈnjuː.məʊˌθɔ.ɹæks// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"pneumothorax" is a 12-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“pneumothorax” is uncommon English (frequency #61,713 among 4,417 “P” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#61,713
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Presence of air inside the pleural cavity, usually caused by injury either to the lung or the chest wall.

Corpus desk

Index EN-pneumothorax · pneumothorax · English

pneumothorax · rank #61,713 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #61,713
  • LEN-MEGA 12 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH pokies

Nearest frequency peer: pokies (+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 “pneumothorax”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for pneumothorax
PropertyValue
Headwordpneumothorax
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈnjuː.məʊˌθɔ.ɹæks/
Letters12
Frequency rank#61,713
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “pneumothorax” in English

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).pneumothoraxfalls in this rarity band:

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Rare peers in the same band: “pokies” (#61,714), “platforming” (#61,710), “pinstripe” (#61,708). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “pneumothorax” is #61,713. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

pneumothorax is uncommon English at frequency #61,713 among 4,417 “P” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈnjuː.məʊˌθɔ.ɹæks/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Presence of air inside the pleural cavity, usually caused by injury either to the lung or the chest wall.".

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for pneumothorax, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

Etymologically, the entry records: From pneumo- + thorax. The correct English form is pneumothorax, spelled P-N-E-U-M-O-T-H-O-R-A-X.

Definition

  1. 1
    Presence of air inside the pleural cavity, usually caused by injury either to the lung or the chest wall.

Etymology

From pneumo- + thorax.

This word in other languages

neumotórax(Español)pneumothorax(Français)

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 "pneumothorax"?
"pneumothorax" is spelled P-N-E-U-M-O-T-H-O-R-A-X. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈnjuː.məʊˌθɔ.ɹæks/.
What does "pneumothorax" mean?
As a noun, "pneumothorax" means: Presence of air inside the pleural cavity, usually caused by injury either to the lung or the chest wall.
How do you pronounce "pneumothorax"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "pneumothorax" is /ˈnjuː.məʊˌθɔ.ɹæks/. 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 "pneumothorax"?
From pneumo- + thorax. 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 "pneumothorax", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 12 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

photocopying#61,704processional#61,726orthodontics#61,681obliteration#61,674

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list