bar

/bɑː/

//bɑː// noun

"bar" is a 3-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“bar” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #1,213) as a noun. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#1,213
frequency rank, English
4,121
“B” headwords
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A solid, more or less rigid object of metal or wood with a uniform cross-section smaller than its length.

Corpus desk

Index EN-bar · bar · English

bar · rank #1,213 · 0 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #1,213
  • LEN-MID 3 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,121
  • PHOTO-FINISH anymore

Nearest frequency peer: anymore (-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.

Frequency neighbourhood for “bar”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “bar” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

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).

bar vs be
33% similar
bar vs by
33% similar
bar vs BC
0% similar

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

Key facts for bar
PropertyValue
Headwordbar
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/bɑː/
Letters3
Frequency rank#1,213
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “bar” sits in English frequency

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

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for bar is neighbouring look-alikes ("be", "by", …), not just typos; it is anoun pronounced /bɑː/. Frequency #1,213 among 4,121 “B” headwords. 41 recorded senses keep meaning in play.

No misspelling variants are generated for bar in our index, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "be", "by", "BC", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English barre, from Old French barre (“beam, bar, gate, barrier”), from Vulgar Latin *barra, of uncertain origin. Doublet of barre. The correct English form is bar, spelled B-A-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    A solid, more or less rigid object of metal or wood with a uniform cross-section smaller than its length.
  2. 2
    A solid metal object with uniform (round, square, hexagonal, octagonal or rectangular) cross-section; in the US its smallest dimension is ¹⁄₄ inch or greater, a piece of thinner material being called a strip.
  3. 3
    A cuboid piece of any solid commodity.
  4. 4
    A broad shaft, band, or stripe.
  5. 5
    A long, narrow drawn or printed rectangle, cuboid or cylinder, especially as used in a bar code or a bar chart.
  6. 6
    Any of various lines used as punctuation or diacritics, such as the pipe ⟨|⟩, fraction bar (as in 12), and strikethrough (as in Ⱥ), formerly (obsolete) including oblique marks such as the slash.
  7. 7
    The sign indicating that the characteristic of a logarithm is negative, conventionally placed above the digit(s) to show that it applies to the characteristic only and not to the mantissa.
  8. 8
    A similar sign indicating that the charge on a particle is the negative of its usual value (and that consequently the particle is in fact an antiparticle).
  9. 9
    A business selling alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises, or the premises themselves; a public house.
  10. 10
    The counter of such premises.
  11. 11
    A counter, or simply a cabinet, from which alcoholic drinks are served in a private house or a hotel room.
  12. 12
    Premises or a counter serving any type of beverage.
  13. 13
    An informal establishment selling food to be consumed on the premises.
  14. 14
    An establishment offering cosmetic services.
  15. 15
    An official order or pronouncement that prohibits some activity.
  16. 16
    Anything that obstructs, hinders, or prevents; an obstruction; a barrier.
  17. 17
    A metasyntactic variable representing an unspecified entity, often the second in a series, following foo.
  18. 18
    A dividing line (physical or notional) in the chamber of a legislature beyond which only members and officials may pass.
  19. 19
    The railing surrounding the part of a courtroom in which the judges, lawyers, defendants and witnesses stay.
  20. 20
    The bar exam, the legal licensing exam.
  21. 21
    Collectively, lawyers or the legal profession; specifically applied to barristers in some countries, but including all lawyers in others.
  22. 22
    One of an array of bar-shaped symbols that display the level of something, such as wireless signal strength or battery life remaining.
  23. 23
    A vertical line across a musical staff dividing written music into sections, typically of equal durational value.
  24. 24
    One of those musical sections.
  25. 25
    One of those musical sections.
  26. 26
    A horizontal pole that must be crossed in the high jump and pole vault.
  27. 27
    Any level of achievement regarded as a challenge to be overcome; a standard or expectation.
  28. 28
    The crossbar.
  29. 29
    The central divider between the inner and outer table of a backgammon board, where stones are placed if they are hit.
  30. 30
    An addition to a military medal, on account of a subsequent act.
  31. 31
    A ridge or succession of ridges of sand or other substance; especially
  32. 32
    A ridge or succession of ridges of sand or other substance; especially:
  33. 33
    One of the ordinaries in heraldry; a diminutive of a fess.
  34. 34
    A city gate, in some British place names.
  35. 35
    A drilling or tamping rod.
  36. 36
    A vein or dike crossing a lode.
  37. 37
    A gatehouse of a castle or fortified town.
  38. 38
    The part of the crust of a horse's hoof which is bent inwards towards the frog at the heel on each side, and extends into the centre of the sole.
  39. 39
    The space between the tusks and grinders in the upper jaw of a horse, in which the bit is placed.
  40. 40
    A measure of drugs, typically one ounce.
  41. 41
    A small, tablet-shaped dose of Xanax, typically containing two milligrams and able to be split into quarters.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. The window was protected by steel bars.
  2. Ancient Sparta used iron bars instead of handy coins in more valuable alloy, to physically discourage the use of money.

Etymology

From Middle English barre, from Old French barre (“beam, bar, gate, barrier”), from Vulgar Latin *barra, of uncertain origin. Doublet of barre.

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.

PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 3, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "bar"?
"bar" is spelled B-A-R. The IPA pronunciation is /bɑː/.
What does "bar" mean?
As a noun, "bar" means: A solid, more or less rigid object of metal or wood with a uniform cross-section smaller than its length.
What words are commonly confused with "bar"?
"bar" is commonly confused with "be", "by", "BC". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "bar"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "bar" is /bɑː/. 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 "bar"?
From Middle English barre, from Old French barre (“beam, bar, gate, barrier”), from Vulgar Latin *barra, of uncertain origin. Doublet of barre. 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 "bar", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 3 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

What to do next

You've looked up "bar". Here's where to go from here.

  • "bar" maps to 20 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "be". View pair
  • Usage frequency rank #1,213 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more English words in the "B" letter cohort. B–Z browse
  • PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list