Palindromes
Words and phrases that read the same forwards and backwards - a fascinating linguistic phenomenon.
What is a Palindrome?
A palindrome is a word, phrase, number, or other sequence of characters that reads the same forward and backward (ignoring spaces, punctuation, and capitalization).
The word "palindrome" comes from the Greek words palin (meaning "again" or "back") and dromos (meaning "running" or "direction").
Palindrome Words
Racecar
7 lettersDefinition: A car built for racing
Category: Common Word
Kayak
5 lettersDefinition: A small, narrow watercraft
Category: Common Word
Level
5 lettersDefinition: A horizontal plane or position
Category: Common Word
Radar
5 lettersDefinition: A system for detecting objects using radio waves
Category: Acronym
Civic
5 lettersDefinition: Relating to a city or citizenship
Category: Common Word
Refer
5 lettersDefinition: To direct attention to something
Category: Common Word
Noon
4 lettersDefinition: Twelve o'clock in the day
Category: Common Word
Deed
4 lettersDefinition: An action or a legal document
Category: Common Word
Madam
5 lettersDefinition: A polite form of address for a woman
Category: Common Word
Rotator
7 lettersDefinition: Something that rotates
Category: Technical
Redivider
9 lettersDefinition: One who divides again
Category: Rare Word
Detartrated
11 lettersDefinition: Removed tartrates from (chemistry term)
Category: Scientific
Palindrome Phrases
"A man, a plan, a canal: Panama"
Famous palindrome about the Panama Canal
"Madam, I'm Adam"
Classic palindrome introducing Adam to Eve
"Never odd or even"
Mathematical palindrome
"Was it a car or a cat I saw?"
Question palindrome
"Do geese see God?"
Philosophical palindrome
"A Santa at NASA"
Modern palindrome
Longest Single-Word Palindrome
Detartrated (11 letters) is one of the longest single-word palindromes in English.
It's a chemistry term meaning to remove tartrates from a substance.
Most Common Palindrome
Noon is likely the most frequently used palindrome in everyday English.
Other common palindromes include "level," "civic," and "radar."
Fun Facts About Palindromes
- The longest palindromic word in the Oxford English Dictionary is "tattarrattat," coined by James Joyce in Ulysses to represent a knock on the door
- February 20, 2002 (20-02-2002) was a palindrome date in many date formats
- Some people's names are palindromes, like Hannah, Anna, and Bob
- The phrase "A man, a plan, a canal: Panama" is considered one of the most famous palindromes
- Palindromes exist in many languages, not just English
- Musical palindromes exist too - compositions that sound the same played forwards and backwards