Ben or bin?
ben is a preposition meaning “In, into”; bin is a noun meaning “A box, frame, crib, or enclosed place, used as a storage container”. Use ben as a preposition and bin as a noun. In written English (wordfreq, 2021 data) ben is about 3.0 times as common as bin.
What is the difference between ben and bin?
| ben | bin | |
|---|---|---|
| Part of speech | noun, preposition, adverb, adjective | noun, verb, contraction, prefix |
| Meaning | ScotlandIn, into ScotlandInside Inner, interior | A box, frame, crib, or enclosed place, used as a storage container A container for rubbish or waste UKinformalTo dispose of (something) by putting it into a bin, or as if putting it into a bin |
| Example | In the Chronicles of the Stage, some curious particulars are given relating to Sir Henry Herbert and the well-known Sir William Davidson… | a corn bin |
| Forms | bens, bene, benner, benmost, Ben, bin | bins |
| Pronunciation | /bɛn/ /bɪn/ | /ˈbɪn/ [ˈbɪn] |
| In writing | 49 times per million words | 17 times per million words |
Sources: ben and bin 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 ben and bin
ben
- 1
ScotlandIn, into
- 2
ScotlandInside
- 3
Inner, interior
- 4
ScotlandThe inner room of a two-room cottage (as opposed to the but); the ben room
- 5
A tree, Moringa oleifera or horseradish tree of Arabia and India, which produces oil of ben
- 6
Son of (used with Hebrew and Arabic surnames)
- 7
A Scottish or Irish mountain or high peak
- 8
IrelandAlternative form of bin
bin
- 1
A box, frame, crib, or enclosed place, used as a storage container
a corn bin
- 2
UKinformalTo dispose of (something) by putting it into a bin, or as if putting it into a bin
- 3
son of; equivalent to Hebrew בן (ben)
- 4
Contraction of being
- 5
Clipping of binary
- 6
Alternative form of bi- (sometimes used before a vowel)
- 7
A container for rubbish or waste
a rubbish bin
- 8
UKinformalTo throw away, reject, give up
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, ben or bin?
ben appears 49 times per million words; bin 17 times per million words.
ben 49 times per million wordsbin 17 times per million words
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).