bay
/ˈbeɪ̯/noun, verb, adjective
bay is spelled B-A-Y: 3 letters and one syllable. It appears 54 times per million words in written English, the 1,899th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). People search “bay vs bey” about 10 times a month (Google, United States). As a noun, bay means “A body of water (especially the sea) contained by a concave shoreline” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of bay is bays.
How many letters and syllables are in bay?
| Letters | 3: B-A-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 54 times per million words; the 1,899th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Pairs people search | |
| Rhymes with | |
| Same letters |
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); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is bay?
Bay appears 54 times per million words in written English, the 1,899th 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 bay?
- US /ˈbeɪ̯/
- /ˈbeː/
- Australia /ˈbæ̝ɪ̯/
Bay 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-bay.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with bay
Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).
Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with bay?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as bay from its last stressed vowel (/eɪ/):
Spelled with the same letters in another order: aby, yab.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of bay
- bays plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- baying participle, present
- bayed participle, past
- bayer comparative
- more bay comparative
- bayest superlative
- most bay superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does bay mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A body of water (especially the sea) contained by a concave shoreline.
This hotel has a great view across the bay.
- 2
A bank or dam to keep back water.
- 3
A tree or shrub of species Laurus nobilis (family Lauraceae), having dark green leaves and berries.
- 4
Bay leaf, the leaf of this or certain other species of tree or shrub, used as a herb.
- 5
Mahogany of species Swietenia macrophylla obtained from Campeche in Mexico.
- 6
archaicThe leaves of this shrub, woven into a garland used to reward a champion or victor; hence, fame, victory.
- 7
USA tract covered with bay trees.
- 8
obsoleteA berry.
- 9
An opening in a wall, especially between two columns.
- 10
An internal recess; a compartment or area surrounded on three sides.
- 11
A display unit in a shop or store, especially a large metal one.
end bay
- 12
A section of ceiling delineated by supports such as rafters or vaulting ribs.
- 13
Each of the spaces, port and starboard, between decks, forward of the bitts, in sailing warships.
- 14
A bay platform.
- 15
A bay window.
- 16
A room for editing video footage or physical film.
- 17
The excited howling of dogs when hunting or being attacked.
- 18
The climactic confrontation between hunting-dogs and their prey.
- 19
A state of being obliged to face an antagonist or a difficulty, when escape has become impossible.
- 20
A brown colour/color of the coat of some horses.
- 21
A horse of this color.
verb
- 1
To howl.
- 2
To bark at; hence, to follow with barking; to bring or drive to bay.
to bay the bear
- 3
To pursue noisily, like a pack of hounds.
adjective
- 1
Of a reddish-brown colour with a black mane and tail.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Bay in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | baie , laurier , compartiment , travée , aboiement, clabaudage |
| German | Bucht , Lorbeer , rotbraun, kastanienbraun |
| Portuguese | baía , loureiro, louro , vão, baia , tramo |
| Spanish | bahía , laurel , plataforma, muelle , alazán , alazana |
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.
Where does bay come from?
From French baie, from Late Latin baia, probably ultimately from Iberian or Basque badia. Partly displaced native Old English byht, whence bight.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).