Plural of nucleus

irregular plural

The plural of nucleus is nuclei or nucleuses.

Forms of nucleus

Singular	nucleus /ˈnjuː.kli.əs/
Plural	nuclei /ˈnjuː.kli.aɪ/ nucleuses
Countable	countable

The nucleus accumbens is one of the most studied nuclei in the dopaminergic system.From the entry dopaminergic
Nucleic acids are found in the nuclei of cells.From the entry nucleic
The neothalamus contains the largest division of nuclei in the brain and is larger in animals with a well-developed cortex.From the entry neothalamus
DLPFC (grey region) innervates VTA nuclei (pink) located in the midbrain through corticomesencephalic glutamatergic projections (red).2015 December 5, “Stochastic Mesocortical Dynamics and Robustness of Working Memory during Delay-Period”, in PLOS ONE, →DOI. From the entry corticomesencephalic
In any solution, gas nuclei can be deactivated (crushed) by the application of large hydrostatic pressures.2015, Bruce Wienke, Science of Diving: Concepts and Applications. From the entry denucleation

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.

What is the plural of nucleus?: The plural of nucleus is nuclei or nucleuses.
Which is correct, nuclei or nucleuses?: Both are used. nuclei is the more common of the two in English writing.
Is nucleus countable?: Nucleus is a countable noun.

Adapted from Wiktionary: nucleus (page history and authors) and the entries of its forms. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws left out forms marked obsolete, archaic, rare or dialectal and added the examples. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Cite this page: “Plural of nucleus.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/plural/nucleus. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.