beast
/biːst/
"beast" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“beast” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #4,350 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #4,350
- frequency rank, English
- 5
- letters
- 6
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - An animal, especially a large or dangerous land vertebrate.
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 | beast |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /biːst/ |
| Letters | 5 |
| Frequency rank | #4,350 |
| Misspellings tracked | 6 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “beast” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for beast is 5 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /biːst/. Corpus data places it at rank #4,350 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 10 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for beast, with forms such as "baest", "bbeast", and "beasst". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "bet", "bes", "best", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English beeste, beste, from Old French beste (French bête), from Latin bēstia (“animal, beast”); many cognates – see bēstia. The correct English form is beast, spelled B-E-A-S-T.
Definition
- 1An animal, especially a large or dangerous land vertebrate.
- 2An animal, especially a large or dangerous land vertebrate.
- 3An animal, especially a large or dangerous land vertebrate.
- 4An animal, especially a large or dangerous land vertebrate.
- 5A person who behaves in a violent, antisocial or uncivilized manner.
- 6Anything regarded as larger or more powerful than one of its normal size or strength.
- 7Someone who is particularly impressive, especially athletically or physically.
- 8A sex offender.
- 9Something unpleasant and difficult.
- 10A thing or matter, especially a difficult or unruly one.
Etymology
From Middle English beeste, beste, from Old French beste (French bête), from Latin bēstia (“animal, beast”); many cognates – see bēstia.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: baest,bbeast,beasst,beastt,besat,ebast
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of beast - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.
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 “beast”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is B-E-A-S-T - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /biːst/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “bet” - see the side-by-side comparison. beast vs bet
- 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.