polymer

/ˈpɒl.ɪ.mə/

//ˈpɒl.ɪ.mə// noun

"polymer" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“polymer” has 11 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #12,301. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#12,301
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords
11
tracked misspellings
2
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A long or larger molecule consisting of a chain or network of many repeating units, formed by chemically bonding together many identical or similar small molecules called monomers. A polymer is for...

Corpus desk

Index EN-polymer · polymer · English

polymer · rank #12,301 · 11 variants · 2 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #12,301
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 2 pairs
  • VAR-MID 11 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH precipitation

Nearest frequency peer: precipitation (+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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “polymer”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “polymer” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

polymer vs polymeric
78% similar
polymer vs Palmer
57% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for polymer
PropertyValue
Headwordpolymer
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈpɒl.ɪ.mə/
Letters7
Frequency rank#12,301
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs2
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “polymer”

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).polymerlands here:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “precipitation” (#12,302), “pledged” (#12,299), “plausible” (#12,298). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “polymer” is #12,301. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 11 spelling variants around polymer (IPA /ˈpɒl.ɪ.mə/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #12,301 among 4,417 “P” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for polymer, with forms such as "oplymer", "ploymer", and "pollymer". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 2 confusable-pair relationships, "polymeric", "Palmer", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From poly- + -mer, from Ancient Greek πολύς (polús, “many”) + μέρος (méros, “part”). Coined by Jöns Jacob Berzelius in 1833, though his definition was quite different from the modern one. The correct English form is polymer, spelled P-O-L-Y-M-E-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    A long or larger molecule consisting of a chain or network of many repeating units, formed by chemically bonding together many identical or similar small molecules called monomers. A polymer is formed by polymerization, the joining of many monomer molecules.
  2. 2
    A material consisting of such polymer molecules.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. The water absorbency of the anionically starch-grafted AA/AM absorbent is markedly affected by the pH of the buffer solution at different ionic strengths. The charge of the ionic monomer affects the pH sensitivity of the superabsorbent polymers. An acidic superabsorbent normally ionizes at high pH but unionizes at low pH.
  2. Similar studies of rats have employed four different intracranial resorbable, slow sustained release systems—surgical foam, a thermal gel depot, a microcapsule or biodegradable polymer beads.

Etymology

From poly- + -mer, from Ancient Greek πολύς (polús, “many”) + μέρος (méros, “part”). Coined by Jöns Jacob Berzelius in 1833, though his definition was quite different from the modern one.

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • oplymer
  • ploymer
  • pollymer
  • polmyer
  • polyemr
  • polymerr
  • polymmer
  • polymre
  • polyymer
  • poylmer
  • ppolymer

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of polymer - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

oplymer2ploymer2pollymer1polmyer2polyemr2polymerr1polymmer1polymre2
Edit distance from "polymer"

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 "polymer"?
"polymer" is spelled P-O-L-Y-M-E-R. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈpɒl.ɪ.mə/.
What does "polymer" mean?
As a noun, "polymer" means: A long or larger molecule consisting of a chain or network of many repeating units, formed by chemically bonding together many identical or similar small molecules called monomers. A polymer is for...
What words are commonly confused with "polymer"?
"polymer" is commonly confused with "polymeric", "Palmer". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "polymer"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "polymer" is /ˈpɒl.ɪ.mə/. 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 "polymer"?
From poly- + -mer, from Ancient Greek πολύς (polús, “many”) + μέρος (méros, “part”). Coined by Jöns Jacob Berzelius in 1833, though his definition was quite different from the modern one. 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 "polymer", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (11 here; floor ≥5).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list