banns

/bænz/

//bænz// noun

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

"banns" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“banns” is uncommon English (frequency #92,368 among 4,121 “B” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#92,368
frequency rank, English
4,121
“B” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The announcement of a forthcoming marriage (legally required for a church wedding in England and Wales and read on the three Sundays preceding the marriage).

Corpus desk

Index EN-banns · banns · English

banns · rank #92,368 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #92,368
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,121
  • PHOTO-FINISH ballista

Nearest frequency peer: ballista (-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.

Long-tail ranks near “banns”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “banns” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for banns
PropertyValue
Headwordbanns
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/bænz/
Letters5
Frequency rank#92,368
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “banns” in English

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).bannsfalls in this rarity band:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “ballista” (#92,367), “baryon” (#92,369), “Badakhshan” (#92,363). Among 4,121 “B” headwords, “banns” is #92,368. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

banns is uncommon English at frequency #92,368 among 4,121 “B” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /bænz/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

No misspelling variants are generated for banns in our index, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

Etymologically, the entry records: An alteration of bans. The correct English form is banns, spelled B-A-N-N-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    The announcement of a forthcoming marriage (legally required for a church wedding in England and Wales and read on the three Sundays preceding the marriage).
  2. 2
    Any public announcement of an upcoming event.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. VVhy the banns have been publiſhed, and nobody has forbidden them, 'tis true—but you know either of the parties may change their minds even after they enter the church.
  2. The Banes which are reade beefore the beginninge of the playes of Chester, 4 June, 1600.

Etymology

An alteration of bans.

This word in other languages

bans(Français)Aufgebot(Deutsch)

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 "banns"?
"banns" is spelled B-A-N-N-S. The IPA pronunciation is /bænz/.
What does "banns" mean?
As a noun, "banns" means: The announcement of a forthcoming marriage (legally required for a church wedding in England and Wales and read on the three Sundays preceding the marriage).
How do you pronounce "banns"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "banns" is /bænz/. 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 "banns"?
An alteration of bans. 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 "banns", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Axios#92,356Biebs#92,385arche#92,344Bonet#92,399

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list