Plural of Nucleus

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The Quick Answer
The plural of nucleus is nuclei.

The Plural of Nucleus

The plural of nucleus is nuclei. The alternative plural nucleuses is extremely rare but still acceptable.
  • Cell nuclei contain most of the cell's genetic material.
  • Some eukaryotic cell types have no nuclei.
  • Some cell types have many nucleuses.
The noun nucleus has a Latin root, which is the derivation of the plural nuclei. Nucleuses (which adheres to the standard rules for forming plurals) is also an accepted plural.

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The Standard Rules for Forming the Plurals

The table below shows the standard rules for forming the plurals of nouns in English.
Type Example of Type Forming the Plural Plural
Most Nouns lamp
scythe		 add s lamps
scythes
Noun Ending s, sh, ch, x or z nucleus
dress		 add es nucleuses
dresses
Nouns ending [consonant] o hero
zero
tomato		 add either s or es
(There are no rules for this - you have to know.)		 heroes
zeros
tomatoes
Nouns ending [vowel] o patio
ratio 		add s patios
ratios
Nouns ending [consonant] y story
penny		 change the y to an i and add es stories
pennies
Nouns ending [vowel] y donkey
chimney 		add s donkeys
chimneys
Nouns ending f or fe dwarf
hoof 		ves and/or s
(There are no rules - you have to know.)		 dwarfs
hooves or hoofs
Exceptions man
louse 		some nouns undergo a vowel or letters change men
lice
More exceptions salmon
sheep 		some nouns do not change at all salmon
sheep
Foreign rulings nucleus
medium 		some nouns adopt foreign rulings nuclei
media

Why Is There Confusion over the Plural of Nucleus?

Confusion arises over the plural of nucleus because its original plural form (nuclei) derives from Latin and native English speakers are drawn to nucleuses, which adheres to the standard ruling for forming plurals.

Nuclei is by far the more common plural of the two. (See the difference in Google's Ngram Viewer.)
Another Interactive Exercise
Here are three randomly selected questions from another exercise on plurals, which can be edited, printed to create an exercise worksheet, or sent via email to friends or students.

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See Also

Unusual pluralsPlural forming table Quirks with forming plurals Forming the plurals of abbreviations Forming the plurals of compound nouns