Bail or bale?
bail is a noun meaning “Security, usually a sum of money, exchanged for the release of an arrested…”; bale is a noun meaning “Evil, especially considered as an active force for destruction or death”. They sound the same (/beɪl/). In written English (wordfreq, 2021 data) bail is about 2.5 times as common as bale.
What is the difference between bail and bale?
| bail | bale | |
|---|---|---|
| Part of speech | noun, verb | noun, verb |
| Meaning | Security, usually a sum of money, exchanged for the release of an arrested person as a guarantee of that person's appearance for trial UKRelease from imprisonment on payment of such money To secure the release of an arrested person by providing bail | Evil, especially considered as an active force for destruction or death Suffering, woe, torment A rounded bundle or package of goods in a cloth cover, and corded for storage or transportation |
| Example | He was granted bail for £20000 | none recorded |
| Forms | bails | bales |
| Pronunciation | /beɪl/ /bæɪl/ /beːl/ | /beɪl/ |
| In writing | 10 times per million words | 4.1 times per million words |
Sources: bail and bale in the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
Every current meaning of bail and bale
bail
- 1
Security, usually a sum of money, exchanged for the release of an arrested person as a guarantee of that person's appearance for trial
He was granted bail for £20000
- 2
To secure the release of an arrested person by providing bail
- 3
slangTo leave or exit abruptly
With his engine in flames, the pilot had no choice but to bail
- 4
A hoop, ring or handle (especially of a kettle or bucket)
- 5
To secure the head of a cow during milking
- 6
AustraliaTo secure (a cow) by placing its head in a bail for milking
- 7
UKRelease from imprisonment on payment of such money
- 8
To release a person under such guarantee
bale
- 1
Evil, especially considered as an active force for destruction or death
- 2
A rounded bundle or package of goods in a cloth cover, and corded for storage or transportation
- 3
To wrap into a bale
- 4
UKTo remove water from a boat with buckets etc
- 5
Suffering, woe, torment
- 6
A bundle of compressed fibers (especially hay, straw, cotton, or wool), compacted for shipping and handling and bound by twine or wire
- 7
A measurement of hay equal to 10 flakes. Approximately 70-90 lbs (32-41 kg)
- 8
A measurement of paper equal to 10 reams
Source: the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); obsolete, archaic, dialect and rare senses left out.
Which is more common, bail or bale?
bail appears 10 times per million words; bale 4.1 times per million words.
bail 10 times per million wordsbale 4.1 times per million words
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How many people search bail vs bale?
“bail vs bale” is searched about 1,600 times a month on Google and 40 on Bing in the United States. Google counts close variants of a query together (“bale vs bail”, “bail or bale”).
Sources: Google Ads keyword data through DataForSEO and Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, the average month from September 2025 to August 2026.