psilocybin

/ˌsɪ.ləˈsaɪ.bɪn/

//ˌsɪ.ləˈsaɪ.bɪn// noun

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

"psilocybin" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“psilocybin” is uncommon English (frequency #54,416 among 4,417 “P” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#54,416
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A hallucinogenic alkaloid, C₁₂H₁₅N₂O·H₂PO₃, present in several species of Central American mushroom and producing effects similar to LSD. The prodrug of psilocin.

Corpus desk

Index EN-psilocybin · psilocybin · English

psilocybin · rank #54,416 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #54,416
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH provocateur

Nearest frequency peer: provocateur (-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 “psilocybin”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for psilocybin
PropertyValue
Headwordpsilocybin
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˌsɪ.ləˈsaɪ.bɪn/
Letters10
Frequency rank#54,416
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “psilocybin” 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).psilocybinfalls 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: “provocateur” (#54,415), “psychopathology” (#54,417), “provable” (#54,414). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “psilocybin” is #54,416. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

psilocybin is uncommon English at frequency #54,416 among 4,417 “P” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˌsɪ.ləˈsaɪ.bɪn/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A hallucinogenic alkaloid, C₁₂H₁₅N₂O·H₂PO₃, present in several species of Central American mushroom and producing effects similar to LSD. The prodrug of psilocin.".

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for psilocybin, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from German Psilocybin (coined by Albert Hofmann), from translingual Psilocybe (“genus of mushroom”) + -in. The correct English form is psilocybin, spelled P-S-I-L-O-C-Y-B-I-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    A hallucinogenic alkaloid, C₁₂H₁₅N₂O·H₂PO₃, present in several species of Central American mushroom and producing effects similar to LSD. The prodrug of psilocin.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. The problem of the mushroom supply was solved straight away when Leary learned from a graduate student named George Litwin that a chemist at the Sandoz Corporation, Dr. Albert Hofmann, had recently synthesized the psychoactive molecule of the mushroom, calling it psilocybin.
  2. It’s no stretch to posit that because human neurotransmitters respond to the platform’s iconic use of a certain shade of blue, and spark with dopamine upon receiving a “like” or “tag” notification, desperate children are now living in cages and a raving madman occupies the Oval Office. Not even Orwell, after a feast of psilocybin, could have predicted thi…

Etymology

Borrowed from German Psilocybin (coined by Albert Hofmann), from translingual Psilocybe (“genus of mushroom”) + -in.

This word in other languages

psilocibina(Español)psilocybine(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 "psilocybin"?
"psilocybin" is spelled P-S-I-L-O-C-Y-B-I-N. The IPA pronunciation is /ˌsɪ.ləˈsaɪ.bɪn/.
What does "psilocybin" mean?
As a noun, "psilocybin" means: A hallucinogenic alkaloid, C₁₂H₁₅N₂O·H₂PO₃, present in several species of Central American mushroom and producing effects similar to LSD. The prodrug of psilocin.
How do you pronounce "psilocybin"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "psilocybin" is /ˌsɪ.ləˈsaɪ.bɪn/. 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 "psilocybin"?
Borrowed from German Psilocybin (coined by Albert Hofmann), from translingual Psilocybe (“genus of mushroom”) + -in. 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 "psilocybin", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 10 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

protrusion#54,413pragmatist#54,404refraining#54,432phosphoric#54,396

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list