potentiometer
/pəˌtɛn(t)ʃiˈɒmɪtə/
"potentiometer" is a 13-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“potentiometer” is uncommon English (frequency #80,771 among 46,516 “P” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #80,771
- frequency rank, English
- 46,516
- “P” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A user-adjustable three-terminal variable resistor that can be used as a voltage divider.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | potentiometer |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /pəˌtɛn(t)ʃiˈɒmɪtə/ |
| Letters | 13 |
| Frequency rank | #80,771 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “potentiometer” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
potentiometer is uncommon English at frequency #80,771 among 46,516 “P” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /pəˌtɛn(t)ʃiˈɒmɪtə/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
No misspelling variants are generated for potentiometer in our index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
Wiktionary doesn't record an etymology for this headword, so any spelling logic here comes from how the word's sounds map to letters, not a documented origin story. The correct English form is potentiometer, spelled P-O-T-E-N-T-I-O-M-E-T-E-R.
Definition
- 1A user-adjustable three-terminal variable resistor that can be used as a voltage divider.
- 2An instrument that measures a voltage by opposing it with a precise fraction of a known voltage, and without drawing current from the unknown source.
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 "potentiometer"?
What does "potentiometer" mean?
How do you pronounce "potentiometer"?
What language does "potentiometer" come from?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “potentiometer”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is P-O-T-E-N-T-I-O-M-E-T-E-R - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /pəˌtɛn(t)ʃiˈɒmɪtə/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Other uncommon English words near this rank
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.