quadrupole

noun

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

The verdict

“quadrupole” is uncommon English (frequency #79,893 among 2,880 “Q” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#79,893
frequency rank, English
2,880
“Q” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A distribution of either electric charge or magnetization equivalent to two dipoles that point in opposite directions.

Corpus desk

Index EN-quadrupole · quadrupole · English

quadrupole · rank #79,893 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #79,893
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,880
  • PHOTO-FINISH quibbling

Nearest frequency peer: quibbling (+2 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.

Frequency neighbourhood for “quadrupole”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “quadrupole” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of May 6, 2026
Key facts for quadrupole
PropertyValue
Headwordquadrupole
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters10
Frequency rank#79,893
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “quadrupole” 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). quadrupole 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

quadrupole is uncommon English at frequency #79,893 among 2,880 “Q” headwords, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

No misspelling variants are generated for quadrupole in our index, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

Etymologically, the entry records: From quadru- + pole. The correct English form is quadrupole, spelled Q-U-A-D-R-U-P-O-L-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A distribution of either electric charge or magnetization equivalent to two dipoles that point in opposite directions.
  2. 2
    A magnet with two north poles and two south poles, used to focus a beam of particles.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. Consider a linear quadrupole consisting of a point charge of strength 2q at the origin and point charges of strength —q at (0, 0, a) and (0, 0, —a).

Etymology

From quadru- + pole.

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.

PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of May 6, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "quadrupole"?
"quadrupole" is spelled Q-U-A-D-R-U-P-O-L-E.
What does "quadrupole" mean?
As a noun, "quadrupole" means: A distribution of either electric charge or magnetization equivalent to two dipoles that point in opposite directions.
What is the origin of the word "quadrupole"?
From quadru- + pole. 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 "quadrupole", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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