zygote
/ˈzaɪɡəʊt/
"zygote" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“zygote” is uncommon English (frequency #63,393 among 2,810 “Z” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #63,393
- frequency rank, English
- 2,810
- “Z” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A eukaryotic cell formed from the fusion of two gametes (“reproductive cells”) during a fertilization process.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | zygote |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈzaɪɡəʊt/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #63,393 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “zygote” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
zygote is uncommon English at frequency #63,393 among 2,810 “Z” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈzaɪɡəʊt/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A eukaryotic cell formed from the fusion of two gametes (“reproductive cells”) during a fertilization process.".
The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for zygote, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.
Etymologically, the entry records: Learned borrowing from Ancient Greek ζῠγωτός (zŭgōtós, “yoked”) + English -ote (suffix meaning ‘having [the thing to which it is attached]’). Ζῠγωτός (Zŭgōtós) is derived from ζῠγόω (zŭgóō, “to join or yoke together”) + -τός (-tós, suffix forming adjectives… The correct English form is zygote, spelled Z-Y-G-O-T-E.
Definition
- 1A eukaryotic cell formed from the fusion of two gametes (“reproductive cells”) during a fertilization process.
Etymology
Learned borrowing from Ancient Greek ζῠγωτός (zŭgōtós, “yoked”) + English -ote (suffix meaning ‘having [the thing to which it is attached]’). Ζῠγωτός (Zŭgōtós) is derived from ζῠγόω (zŭgóō, “to join or yoke together”) + -τός (-tós, suffix forming adjectives of possibility); and ζῠγόω (zŭgóō) from ζῠγόν (zŭgón, “yoke for joining animals; anything which joins two things together”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *yewg- (“to tie together, join, yoke”)) + -όω (-óō, suffix forming causative or factitive verbs). By surface analysis, zygo- + -ote.
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 “zygote”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is Z-Y-G-O-T-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈzaɪɡəʊt/ (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.