Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

heteroatom

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.55 in modern English

Syllables
het-eroatom
IPA
15
Scrabble Score
10
Letters
2
Syllables
7
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

Any atom which is not carbon or hydrogen.

noun

Any atom in a heterocyclic ring (or other structure normally built of carbon atoms) that is not a carbon atom.

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *sem- Proto-Indo-European *sḿ̥teros Proto-Hellenic *hə́teros Ancient Greek ἕτερος (héteros)lbor. English hetero- English atom English heteroatom From hetero- + atom.

Inflected Forms

Frequently Paired Words

heterocycle homoatom

Questions

What does heteroatom mean?
Any atom which is not carbon or hydrogen.
Where does heteroatom come from?
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *sem- Proto-Indo-European *sḿ̥teros Proto-Hellenic *hə́teros Ancient Greek ἕτερος (héteros)lbor. English hetero- English atom English heteroatom From hetero- + atom.

How to pronounce heteroatom

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “heteroatom”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “heteroatom”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “heteroatom” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.