sorbitol
/ˈsɔː.bɪ.tɒl/
"sorbitol" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“sorbitol” is uncommon English (frequency #87,849 among 54,294 “S” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #87,849
- frequency rank, English
- 54,294
- “S” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A faintly sweet alcohol C₆H₁₄O₆ that occurs in some fruits, is made synthetically, and is used especially as a humectant and softener and in making ascorbic acid.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | sorbitol |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈsɔː.bɪ.tɒl/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #87,849 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “sorbitol” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
sorbitol is uncommon English at frequency #87,849 among 54,294 “S” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈsɔː.bɪ.tɒl/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A faintly sweet alcohol C₆H₁₄O₆ that occurs in some fruits, is made synthetically, and is used especially as a humectant and softener and in making ascorbic acid.".
We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for sorbitol, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.
Etymologically, the entry records: From earlier sorbite (from sorb + -ite) + -ol. By surface analysis, sorb + -itol. The correct English form is sorbitol, spelled S-O-R-B-I-T-O-L.
Definition
- 1A faintly sweet alcohol C₆H₁₄O₆ that occurs in some fruits, is made synthetically, and is used especially as a humectant and softener and in making ascorbic acid.
Etymology
From earlier sorbite (from sorb + -ite) + -ol. By surface analysis, sorb + -itol.
Synonyms
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
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Using “sorbitol”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is S-O-R-B-I-T-O-L - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈsɔː.bɪ.tɒl/ (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.