band-aid

/ˈbændeɪd/

//ˈbændeɪd// noun

"band-aid" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“band-aid” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
8
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - An adhesive bandage, a small piece of fabric or plastic that may be stuck to the skin in order to temporarily cover a small wound.

Corpus desk

Index EN-band-aid · band-aid · English

band-aid · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "B" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

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.

Key facts for band-aid
PropertyValue
Headwordband-aid
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈbændeɪd/
Letters8
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “band-aid” in English

band-aidranks outside the top 100,000 English headwords, in the long tail of specialist, archaic, or seldom-used vocabulary, exactly the territory where a reader stops mid-sentence to double-check spelling.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

band-aid is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈbændeɪd/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for band-aid, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: Genericized trademark from Band-Aid, registered and coined by Johnson & Johnson in 1924 as band(age) + aid. The correct English form is band-aid, spelled B-A-N-D---A-I-D.

Definition

  1. 1
    An adhesive bandage, a small piece of fabric or plastic that may be stuck to the skin in order to temporarily cover a small wound.
  2. 2
    A temporary or makeshift solution to a problem, created ad hoc and often with a lack of foresight.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. It was another of those political band-aids patted over a minor sore.

Etymology

Genericized trademark from Band-Aid, registered and coined by Johnson & Johnson in 1924 as band(age) + aid.

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). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "band-aid"?
"band-aid" is spelled B-A-N-D---A-I-D. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈbændeɪd/.
What does "band-aid" mean?
As a noun, "band-aid" means: An adhesive bandage, a small piece of fabric or plastic that may be stuck to the skin in order to temporarily cover a small wound.
How do you pronounce "band-aid"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "band-aid" is /ˈbændeɪd/. 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-aid"?
Genericized trademark from Band-Aid, registered and coined by Johnson & Johnson in 1924 as band(age) + aid. 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list