bamboozle
/bæmˈbuː.zl̩/
"bamboozle" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“bamboozle” is an uncommon English word, ranked #78,387 in English word frequency and used as a verb.
- #78,387
- frequency rank, English
- 9
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - To con, defraud, trick, to make a fool of, to humbug or impose on someone.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | bamboozle |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /bæmˈbuː.zl̩/ |
| Letters | 9 |
| Frequency rank | #78,387 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “bamboozle” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for bamboozle is 9 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /bæmˈbuː.zl̩/. Corpus data places it at rank #78,387 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Zero misspellings are on record for bamboozle in our index, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
Etymologically, the entry records: Derivative of 17th-century vernacular bam (“to trick, to con”), which is a derivative of bam in noun use (fraudster, cheat). Possibly from French embobiner. The correct English form is bamboozle, spelled B-A-M-B-O-O-Z-L-E.
Definition
- 1To con, defraud, trick, to make a fool of, to humbug or impose on someone.
- 2To confuse, frustrate or perplex.
Etymology
Derivative of 17th-century vernacular bam (“to trick, to con”), which is a derivative of bam in noun use (fraudster, cheat). Possibly from French embobiner.
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you spell "bamboozle"?
What does "bamboozle" mean?
How do you pronounce "bamboozle"?
What is the origin of the word "bamboozle"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “bamboozle”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is B-A-M-B-O-O-Z-L-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /bæmˈbuː.zl̩/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.