bass
/beɪs/adjective, noun, verb
bass is spelled B-A-S-S: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears 19 times per million words in written English, the 4,444th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). People search “base vs bass” about 480 times a month (Google, United States). As an adjective, bass means “Of sound, a voice or an instrument, low in pitch or frequency” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in bass?
| Letters | 4: B-A-S-S |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 19 times per million words; the 4,444th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Pairs people search | |
| Sounds like |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026).
How common is bass?
Bass appears 19 times per million words in written English, the 4,444th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce bass?
- /beɪs/
As a noun (“The perch; any of various marine and freshwater fish…”): /bæs/.
Bass has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-bass-low.ogg, En-us-bass.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with bass
Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).
Sounds like: base (Wiktionary's homophone list; some hold only in some accents).
Also written: basse.
Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
Forms of bass
- basser comparative
- bassest superlative
- basses plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- bassing participle, present
- bassed participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does bass mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Of sound, a voice or an instrument, low in pitch or frequency.
The giant spoke in a deep, bass, rumbling voice that shook me to my boots.
noun
- 1
A low spectrum of sound tones.
Peter adjusted the equalizer on his audio equipment to emphasize the bass.
- 2
A section of a musical group that produces low-pitched sound, lower than the baritone and tenor.
The conductor preferred to situate the bass in the middle rear, rather than to one side of the orchestra.
- 3
One who sings in the bass range.
Halfway through middle school, Edgar morphed from a soprano to a bass, much to the amazement and amusement of his fellow choristers.
- 4
An instrument that plays in the bass range, in particular a bass guitar, double bass, electric bass, or bass synthesiser.
The musician swung the bass over his head like an axe and smashed it into the amplifier, creating a discordant howl of noise.
- 5
The clef sign that indicates that the pitch of the notes is below middle C.
The score had been written without the treble and bass, but it was easy to pick out which was which based on the location of the notes on the staff.
- 6
The perch; any of various marine and freshwater fish resembling the perch, all within the order of Perciformes.
- 7
The fibrous inner bark of the linden or lime tree, used for making mats.
- 8
Fibers from other plants, especially palm trees
- 9
Anything made from such fibers, such as a hassock, basket or thick mat.
verb
- 1
To sound in a deep tone.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Bass in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | bas, grave , basse , bar, perche, achigan |
| German | bass , Bass , Barsch , Bassschlüssel |
| Portuguese | grave, baixo , perca, achigã , clave de fá |
| Spanish | bajo , róbalo, lubina, perca |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.