tubercle

/ˈt(j)uː.bə.kəl/

//ˈt(j)uː.bə.kəl// noun

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

"tubercle" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“tubercle” is uncommon English (frequency #76,415 among 3,151 “T” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#76,415
frequency rank, English
3,151
“T” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A round nodule, small eminence, or warty outgrowth, especially those found on bones for the attachment of a muscle or ligament or small elevations on the surface of a tooth.

Corpus desk

Index EN-tubercle · tubercle · English

tubercle · rank #76,415 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #76,415
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,151
  • PHOTO-FINISH tuberous

Nearest frequency peer: tuberous (+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 “tubercle”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for tubercle
PropertyValue
Headwordtubercle
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈt(j)uː.bə.kəl/
Letters8
Frequency rank#76,415
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “tubercle” in English

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).tuberclefalls 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: “tuberous” (#76,416), “turbot” (#76,417), “trou” (#76,411). Among 3,151 “T” headwords, “tubercle” is #76,415. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

tubercle is uncommon English at frequency #76,415 among 3,151 “T” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈt(j)uː.bə.kəl/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for tubercle, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: Derived from Latin tūberculum. Compare tuber. The correct English form is tubercle, spelled T-U-B-E-R-C-L-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A round nodule, small eminence, or warty outgrowth, especially those found on bones for the attachment of a muscle or ligament or small elevations on the surface of a tooth.
  2. 2
    A small rounded wartlike protuberance of the roots of some leguminous plants; the lip of certain orchids, cacti.
  3. 3
    A small rounded nodule forming the characteristic lesion of tuberculosis.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. the iliac tubercles

Etymology

Derived from Latin tūberculum. Compare tuber.

Synonyms

tuberosityeminencenodule

This word in other languages

tubérculo(Español)Tuberkel(Deutsch)

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 "tubercle"?
"tubercle" is spelled T-U-B-E-R-C-L-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈt(j)uː.bə.kəl/.
What does "tubercle" mean?
As a noun, "tubercle" means: A round nodule, small eminence, or warty outgrowth, especially those found on bones for the attachment of a muscle or ligament or small elevations on the surface of a tooth.
How do you pronounce "tubercle"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "tubercle" is /ˈt(j)uː.bə.kəl/. 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 "tubercle"?
Derived from Latin tūberculum. Compare tuber. 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 "tubercle", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

tuberous#76,416unfreeze#76,430Unsworth#76,434teamster#76,386

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list