zwitterion
/ˈtsvɪtəɹ.aɪ̯ən/noun
zwitterion is spelled Z-W-I-T-T-E-R-I-O-N: 10 letters. It appears about once in every 98 million words in written English, the 317,168th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, zwitterion means “A molecule, such as an amino acid, that carries both a positive and a negative charge” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of zwitterion is zwitterions.
How many letters and syllables are in zwitterion?
| Letters | 10: Z-W-I-T-T-E-R-I-O-N |
|---|---|
| In writing | about once in every 98 million words; the 317,168th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is zwitterion?
Zwitterion appears about once in every 98 million words in written English, the 317,168th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce zwitterion?
- /ˈtsvɪtəɹ.aɪ̯ən/
- /ˈzwɪtəɹ.aɪ̯ən/
- /ˈtswɪtəɹ.aɪ̯ən/
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Tesco250-zwitterion.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of zwitterion
- zwitterions plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does zwitterion mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A molecule, such as an amino acid, that carries both a positive and a negative charge.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Zwitterion in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense molecule that carries both a positive and a negative charge:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | zwitterion |
| German | Zwitterion |
| Portuguese | zwitterion, zwitteríon, zwitterião |
| Spanish | zwitterión |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does zwitterion come from?
Unadapted borrowing from German Zwitterion, from Zwitter (“hermaphrodite”) + Ion (“ion”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).