barefoot

/ˈbɛɹfʊt/

//ˈbɛɹfʊt// adj

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

"barefoot" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“barefoot” has 11 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #17,298. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#17,298
frequency rank, English
4,121
“B” headwords
11
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Wearing nothing on the feet.

Corpus desk

Index EN-barefoot · barefoot · English

barefoot · rank #17,298 · 11 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #17,298
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-MID 11 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,121
  • PHOTO-FINISH banished

Nearest frequency peer: banished (-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 “barefoot”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “barefoot” 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
Key facts for barefoot
PropertyValue
Headwordbarefoot
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈbɛɹfʊt/
Letters8
Frequency rank#17,298
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “barefoot”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).barefootlands here:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “banished” (#17,297), “barrage” (#17,299), “Bartlett” (#17,300). Among 4,121 “B” headwords, “barefoot” is #17,298. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 11 spelling variants around barefoot (IPA /ˈbɛɹfʊt/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #17,298 among 4,121 “B” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for barefoot, with forms such as "abrefoot", "baerfoot", and "bareffoot". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English barefote, barfot, from Old English bærfōt (“barefoot”), from Proto-West Germanic *baʀafōt, from Proto-Germanic *bazafōts (“barefoot”) equivalent to bare + foot. Cognate with Scots barefit (“barefoot”), Old Frisian berfōt ("barefoot"; mod… The correct English form is barefoot, spelled B-A-R-E-F-O-O-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    Wearing nothing on the feet.
  2. 2
    Of a vehicle on an icy road: not using snow chains.
  3. 3
    Transmitting without the use of an amplifier.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. After taking off their shoes, socks and sandals at the doorway, the kids were barefoot.
  2. [L]ike Hedg-hogs vvhich / Lye tumbling in my bare-foote vvay, and mount / Their pricks at my foot-fall: ſometime am I / All vvound vvith Adders, vvho vvith clouen tongues / Doe hiſſe me into madneſſe: […]

Etymology

From Middle English barefote, barfot, from Old English bærfōt (“barefoot”), from Proto-West Germanic *baʀafōt, from Proto-Germanic *bazafōts (“barefoot”) equivalent to bare + foot. Cognate with Scots barefit (“barefoot”), Old Frisian berfōt ("barefoot"; modern Saterland Frisian boarfouts (“barefoot”, adverb)), Dutch barrevoets (“barefoot”, adverb), German barfuß (“barefoot”), Danish barfodet (“barefoot”), Swedish barfota (“barefoot”, adverb), Icelandic berfættur (“barefoot”), Yiddish באָרוועס (borves, “barefoot”).

Synonyms

barefooteddiscalcedshoelessunshodunshoed

This word in other languages

descalzo(Español)pieds nus(Français)barfuß(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • abrefoot
  • baerfoot
  • bareffoot
  • barefoott
  • barefot
  • barefoto
  • bareofot
  • barfeoot
  • barrefoot
  • bbarefoot
  • braefoot

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of barefoot - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

abrefoot2baerfoot2bareffoot1barefoott1barefot1barefoto2bareofot2barfeoot2
Edit distance from "barefoot"

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 "barefoot"?
"barefoot" is spelled B-A-R-E-F-O-O-T. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈbɛɹfʊt/.
What does "barefoot" mean?
As an adjective, "barefoot" means: Wearing nothing on the feet.
What are common misspellings of "barefoot"?
Common misspellings include "abrefoot", "baerfoot", "bareffoot", "barefoott", "barefot". The correct spelling is "barefoot".
How do you pronounce "barefoot"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "barefoot" is /ˈbɛɹfʊt/. 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 "barefoot"?
From Middle English barefote, barfot, from Old English bærfōt (“barefoot”), from Proto-West Germanic *baʀafōt, from Proto-Germanic *bazafōts (“barefoot”) equivalent to bare + foot. Cognate with Scots barefit (“barefoot”), Old Frisian berfōt ("bare... 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 "barefoot", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

banished#17,297Bartlett#17,300beauties#17,301bestowed#17,302

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (11 here; floor ≥5).

Britney11 variantsBurnley11 variantsclassify11 variantsvalidate11 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list