Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

nucleus

/ˈnuː.kli.əs/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.59 in modern English

Syllables: nu-cle-us
IPA: /ˈnuː.kli.əs/

9

Scrabble Score

7

Letters

3

Syllables

6

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

The core, central part of something, around which other elements are assembled.

noun

An initial part or version that will receive additions.

noun

The massive, positively charged central part of an atom, made up of protons and neutrons.

noun

A large membrane-enclosed organelle found in eukaryotic cells which contains genetic material.

noun

A ganglion, cluster of many neuronal bodies where synapsing occurs.

noun

The central part of a syllable, most commonly a vowel.

noun

A small bee-hive used to create a colony from a larger existing one.

Example Sentences

"Situated in the centre of the largest agricultural basin in northern Formosa, T’ai-pei (population in 1964 was estimated to be 1,117,000) forms the nucleus of a major industrial area. The T’ai-pei industrial complex includes light and heavy industies within the urbanized area and also in several industrial suburbs, including Pan-ch’iao and Nan-chiang."
"This collection will form the nucleus of a new library."
"This publishing project and the experience Power gained from wartime activities formed the nucleus for the development of the giant enterprise that today is University Microfilms, subsidiary of the Xerox Education Group, Xerox Corporation."

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Italic *knuks Latin nux Latin nucleuslbor. English nucleus Learned borrowing from Latin nucleus (“kernel, core”). The earliest uses refer to the head of a comet and the kernel of a seed, both recorded in Lexicon Technicum in 1704. The sense in atomic physics was coined by British scientist Michael Faraday in 1844 in a theoretical meaning.

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˈnuː.kli.əs/
British English: /ˈnjuː.kli.əs/

Inflected Forms

nuclei (plural) nucleuses (plural)

Derived Forms

antinucleus binucleus endonucleus hypernucleus macronucleus meganucleus micronucleus myonucleus nuclear nuclease nuclein nucleolar

Phrases

active galactic nucleus atomic nucleus Borromean nucleus caudate nucleus cell nucleus dentate nucleus Edinger-Westphal nucleus emboliform nucleus

Frequently Paired Words

onset coda

Synonyms

lens nucleus cell nucleus karyon core core group

Questions

How do you pronounce nucleus?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈnuː.kli.əs/.
What does nucleus mean?: The core, central part of something, around which other elements are assembled.
Where does nucleus come from?: Etymology tree Proto-Italic *knuks Latin nux Latin nucleuslbor. English nucleus Learned borrowing from Latin nucleus (“kernel, core”). The earliest uses refer to the head of a comet and the kernel of a seed, both recorded in Lexicon Technicum in 1704. The sense in atomic physics was coined by British scientist Michael Faraday in 1844 in a theoretical meaning.

How to pronounce nucleus

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “nucleus”.
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