band

/bænd/

//bænd// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"band" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“band” has 6 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #1,262. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#1,262
frequency rank, English
4,121
“B” headwords
6
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A strip of material used for strengthening or coupling.

Corpus desk

Index EN-band · band · English

band · rank #1,262 · 6 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #1,262
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 6 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,121
  • PHOTO-FINISH awesome

Nearest frequency peer: awesome (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “band”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “band” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

band vs bd
50% similar
band vs bn
50% similar
band vs bed
50% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for band
PropertyValue
Headwordband
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/bænd/
Letters4
Frequency rank#1,262
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “band”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).bandlands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “awesome” (#1,261), “beach” (#1,263), “Africa” (#1,260). Among 4,121 “B” headwords, “band” is #1,262. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 6 spelling variants around band (IPA /bænd/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #1,262 among 4,121 “B” headwords. Wiktionary lists 19 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for band, with forms such as "abnd", "badn", and "bandd". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "bd", "bn", "bed", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *bʰendʰ-der. Proto-Germanic *bandiz Old English bend Middle English band English band Inherited from Middle English band (also bond), from Old English beand, bænd, bend (“bond, chain, fetter, band, ribbon, ornament, chaple… The correct English form is band, spelled B-A-N-D.

Definition

  1. 1
    A strip of material used for strengthening or coupling.
  2. 2
    A strip of material used for strengthening or coupling.
  3. 3
    A strip of material used for strengthening or coupling.
  4. 4
    A strip of material used for strengthening or coupling.
  5. 5
    A long strip of material, color, etc, that is different from the surrounding area.
  6. 6
    A strip of decoration.
  7. 7
    A strip of decoration.
  8. 8
    That which serves as the means of union or connection between persons; a tie.
  9. 9
    A linen collar or ruff worn in the 16th and 17th centuries.
  10. 10
    Two strips of linen hanging from the neck in front as part of a clerical, legal, or academic dress.
  11. 11
    A part of the electromagnetic spectrum.
  12. 12
    A group of energy levels in a solid state material.
  13. 13
    A bond.
  14. 14
    Pledge; security.
  15. 15
    A ring, such as a wedding ring (wedding band), or a ring put on a bird's leg to identify it.
  16. 16
    Any distinguishing line formed by chromatography, electrophoresis etc
  17. 17
    Ellipsis of band cell.
  18. 18
    A wad of money totaling $1K, held together by a band; (by extension) $1000, a grand; (by extension) money
  19. 19
    A designated range of radio frequencies used for wireless communication.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how band appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. The Jones man was looking at her hard. Now he reached into the hatch of his vest and fetched out a couple of cigars, everlasting big ones, with gilt bands on them.
  2. band and gusset and seam

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *bʰendʰ-der. Proto-Germanic *bandiz Old English bend Middle English band English band Inherited from Middle English band (also bond), from Old English beand, bænd, bend (“bond, chain, fetter, band, ribbon, ornament, chaplet, crown”), from Proto-Germanic *bandą, *bandiz (“band, fetter”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰendʰ- (“to tie, bind”). Middle English band reinforced by Old French bande. Cognate with Dutch band, German Band, Danish bånd, Swedish band, Icelandic band (“band”). Related to bond, bind, bend.

This word in other languages

cinta(Español)Band(Deutsch)banda(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • abnd
  • badn
  • bandd
  • bannd
  • bband
  • bnad

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of band - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

abnd2badn2bandd1bannd1bband1bnad2
Edit distance from "band"

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 "band"?
"band" is spelled B-A-N-D. The IPA pronunciation is /bænd/.
What does "band" mean?
As a noun, "band" means: A strip of material used for strengthening or coupling.
What words are commonly confused with "band"?
"band" is commonly confused with "bd", "bn", "bed". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "band"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "band" is /bænd/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "band"?
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *bʰendʰ-der. Proto-Germanic *bandiz Old English bend Middle English band English band Inherited from Middle English band (also bond), from Old English beand, bænd, bend (“bond, chain, fetter, band, ribbon, orname... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "band", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

cash#1,264ship#1,254none#1,251lack#1,274

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (6 here; floor ≥5).

ended6 variantsRussia6 variantscalls6 variantsimage6 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list