vancomycin
/ˌvæŋ.kəˈmaɪ.sɪn/
"vancomycin" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“vancomycin” is uncommon English (frequency #68,734 among 7,391 “V” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #68,734
- frequency rank, English
- 7,391
- “V” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A glycopeptide antibiotic C₆₆H₇₅Cl₂N₉O₂₄ produced by the actinomycete Amycolaptosis orientalis, used in the form of its hydrochloride C₆₆H₇₅Cl₂N₉O₂₄·HCl against Gram-positive bacteria, especially s...
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | vancomycin |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˌvæŋ.kəˈmaɪ.sɪn/ |
| Letters | 10 |
| Frequency rank | #68,734 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “vancomycin” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
vancomycin is uncommon English at frequency #68,734 among 7,391 “V” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˌvæŋ.kəˈmaɪ.sɪn/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A glycopeptide antibiotic C₆₆H₇₅Cl₂N₉O₂₄ produced by the actinomycete Amycolaptosis orientalis, used in the form of its hydrochloride C₆₆H₇₅Cl₂N₉O₂₄·HCl against Gram-positive bacteria, especially s...".
No misspelling variants are generated for vancomycin in our index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
Etymologically, the entry records: From vanquish + -o- + -mycin (“antibiotic produced by a Streptomyces strain”). The correct English form is vancomycin, spelled V-A-N-C-O-M-Y-C-I-N.
Definition
- 1A glycopeptide antibiotic C₆₆H₇₅Cl₂N₉O₂₄ produced by the actinomycete Amycolaptosis orientalis, used in the form of its hydrochloride C₆₆H₇₅Cl₂N₉O₂₄·HCl against Gram-positive bacteria, especially staphylococci resistant to meticillin and enterococci.
Etymology
From vanquish + -o- + -mycin (“antibiotic produced by a Streptomyces strain”).
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 “vancomycin”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is V-A-N-C-O-M-Y-C-I-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˌvæŋ.kəˈmaɪ.sɪn/ (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.