Pyrex

name

"pyrex" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“Pyrex” is uncommon English (frequency #52,577 among 46,516 “P” headwords), classed as a proper noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#52,577
frequency rank, English
46,516
“P” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A brand of glassware produced by the Corning corporation, capable of resisting high temperatures, and suitable for cooking applications, currently made with tempered glass.

Key facts for Pyrex
PropertyValue
HeadwordPyrex
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechProper noun
Letters5
Frequency rank#52,577
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “Pyrex” sits in English frequency

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

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

Pyrex is uncommon English at frequency #52,577 among 46,516 “P” headwords, classed as aproper noun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for Pyrex, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: From pie + r + -ex. First manufactured by the Corning Glassware Factory in 1915. * 1957, Letter from the Corning Glassware Factory: *: "We had a number of prior trademarks ending in the letters ex. One of the first commercial products to be sold under the n… The correct English form is Pyrex, spelled P-Y-R-E-X.

Definition

  1. 1
    A brand of glassware produced by the Corning corporation, capable of resisting high temperatures, and suitable for cooking applications, currently made with tempered glass.
  2. 2
    A brand of glassware produced by Corning using borosilicate glass.

Etymology

From pie + r + -ex. First manufactured by the Corning Glassware Factory in 1915. * 1957, Letter from the Corning Glassware Factory: *: "We had a number of prior trademarks ending in the letters ex. One of the first commercial products to be sold under the new mark was a pie plate, and in the interests of euphonism the letter "r" was inserted between pie and ex, and the whole thing condensed to pyrex." * The name also connotes the fire of pyro-.

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 "Pyrex"?
"Pyrex" is spelled P-Y-R-E-X.
What does "Pyrex" mean?
As a proper noun, "Pyrex" means: A brand of glassware produced by the Corning corporation, capable of resisting high temperatures, and suitable for cooking applications, currently made with tempered glass.
What is the origin of the word "Pyrex"?
From pie + r + -ex. First manufactured by the Corning Glassware Factory in 1915. * 1957, Letter from the Corning Glassware Factory: *: "We had a number of prior trademarks ending in the letters ex. One of the first commercial products to be sold u... 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.

Using “Pyrex”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is P-Y-R-E-X - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list