baseball

/ˈbeɪs.bɔːl/

//ˈbeɪs.bɔːl// noun

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

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

The verdict

“baseball” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #2,773 in English word frequency and used as a noun.

#2,773
frequency rank, English
8
letters
10
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A sport common in North America, the Caribbean, and East Asia, in which the objective is to strike a ball so that one of a nine-person team can run counter-clockwise among four bases, resulting in ...

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

baseball vs basketball
80% similar

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

Key facts for baseball
PropertyValue
Headwordbaseball
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈbeɪs.bɔːl/
Letters8
Frequency rank#2,773
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “baseball” 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). baseball lands here:

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

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

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for baseball is 8 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈbeɪs.bɔːl/. Corpus data places it at rank #2,773 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for baseball, with forms such as "abseball", "baesball", and "basbeall". 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 1 confusable-pair relationship, "basketball", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From base + ball. The correct English form is baseball, spelled B-A-S-E-B-A-L-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    A sport common in North America, the Caribbean, and East Asia, in which the objective is to strike a ball so that one of a nine-person team can run counter-clockwise among four bases, resulting in the scoring of a run. The team with the most runs after termination of play, usually nine innings, wins.
  2. 2
    The ball used to play the sport of baseball.
  3. 3
    A variant of poker in which cards with baseball-related values have special significance.

Etymology

From base + ball.

This word in other languages

béisbol(Español)baseball(Français)Baseball(Deutsch)basebol(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: abseball,baesball,basbeall,baseabll,basebal,basebball,baseblal,basseball,bbaseball,bsaeball

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of baseball - 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.

abseball2baesball2basbeall2baseabll2basebal1basebball1baseblal2basseball1
Edit distance from "baseball"

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 "baseball"?
"baseball" is spelled B-A-S-E-B-A-L-L. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈbeɪs.bɔːl/.
What does "baseball" mean?
As a noun, "baseball" means: A sport common in North America, the Caribbean, and East Asia, in which the objective is to strike a ball so that one of a nine-person team can run counter-clockwise among four bases, resulting in ...
What words are commonly confused with "baseball"?
"baseball" is commonly confused with "basketball". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "baseball"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "baseball" is /ˈbeɪs.bɔːl/. 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 "baseball"?
From base + ball. 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.

Using “baseball”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is B-A-S-E-B-A-L-L - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /ˈbeɪs.bɔːl/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “basketball” - see the side-by-side comparison. baseball vs basketball
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list