# beam vs bear

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### beam
*noun · IPA /biːm/ · frequency rank #5,659*
Any large piece of timber or iron long in proportion to its thickness, and prepared for use.

### bear
*noun · IPA /bɛə/ · frequency rank #1,985*
A large, generally omnivorous mammal (a few species are purely carnivorous or herbivorous), having shaggy fur, a very small tail, and flat feet; a member of the family Ursidae.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/vs/beam-vs-bear