bayonet
/ˈbeɪənɪt/
"bayonet" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“bayonet” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #23,758 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #23,758
- frequency rank, English
- 7
- letters
- 10
- tracked misspellings
- 3
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A blade mounted to the end of a long gun, originally with a handle inserted into the bore, now usually attached underbarrel.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | bayonet |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈbeɪənɪt/ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Frequency rank | #23,758 |
| Misspellings tracked | 10 |
| Confusable pairs | 3 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “bayonet” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for bayonet is 7 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈbeɪənɪt/. Corpus data places it at rank #23,758 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 2 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 bayonet, with forms such as "abyonet", "baoynet", and "baynoet". 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 3 confusable-pair relationships, "Bayonne", "barnet", "baronet", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: Etymology tree French Bayonne Proto-Indo-European *-tós Proto-Italic *-tosder.? Late Latin -ittus Old French -et Middle French -et French -ette French baïonnetteder. English bayonet From French baïonnette, named after the French town of Bayonne, where the p… The correct English form is bayonet, spelled B-A-Y-O-N-E-T.
Definition
- 1A blade mounted to the end of a long gun, originally with a handle inserted into the bore, now usually attached underbarrel.
- 2A pin which plays in and out of holes made to receive it, and which thus serves to engage or disengage parts of the machinery.
Etymology
Etymology tree French Bayonne Proto-Indo-European *-tós Proto-Italic *-tosder.? Late Latin -ittus Old French -et Middle French -et French -ette French baïonnetteder. English bayonet From French baïonnette, named after the French town of Bayonne, where the plug bayonet was invented.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: abyonet,baoynet,baynoet,bayoent,bayonett,bayonnet,bayonte,bayyonet,bbayonet,byaonet
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of bayonet - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
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
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Using “bayonet”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is B-A-Y-O-N-E-T - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈbeɪənɪt/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “Bayonne” - see the side-by-side comparison. bayonet vs Bayonne
- 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.