streptococcus
/ˌstɹɛptəˈkɒkəs/
"streptococcus" is a 13-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“streptococcus” is uncommon English (frequency #51,424 among 54,294 “S” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #51,424
- frequency rank, English
- 54,294
- “S” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A spherical, gram-positive bacterium of the genus Streptococcus. Although commonly found benignly in the human mouth and gut, and though many species are non-pathogenic, other species can cause dis...
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | streptococcus |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˌstɹɛptəˈkɒkəs/ |
| Letters | 13 |
| Frequency rank | #51,424 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “streptococcus” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
streptococcus is uncommon English at frequency #51,424 among 54,294 “S” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˌstɹɛptəˈkɒkəs/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A spherical, gram-positive bacterium of the genus Streptococcus. Although commonly found benignly in the human mouth and gut, and though many species are non-pathogenic, other species can cause dis...".
No misspelling variants are generated for streptococcus in our index, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.
Etymologically, the entry records: Morphologically a compound of strepto- + -coccus. They grow in chains or pairs, thus the name — from Ancient Greek στρεπτός (streptós, “twisted, pliant”), like a chain. Compare the genus name Streptococcus. The correct English form is streptococcus, spelled S-T-R-E-P-T-O-C-O-C-C-U-S.
Definition
- 1A spherical, gram-positive bacterium of the genus Streptococcus. Although commonly found benignly in the human mouth and gut, and though many species are non-pathogenic, other species can cause diseases including strep throat and more serious conditions.
Etymology
Morphologically a compound of strepto- + -coccus. They grow in chains or pairs, thus the name — from Ancient Greek στρεπτός (streptós, “twisted, pliant”), like a chain. Compare the genus name Streptococcus.
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 “streptococcus”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is S-T-R-E-P-T-O-C-O-C-C-U-S - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˌstɹɛptəˈkɒkəs/ (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.