beaver

/ˈbiːvə/

//ˈbiːvə// noun

"beaver" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“beaver” has 8 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #12,733. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#12,733
frequency rank, English
4,121
“B” headwords
8
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A semiaquatic rodent of the genus Castor, having a wide, flat tail and webbed feet, native to the Northern Hemisphere.

Corpus desk

Index EN-beaver · beaver · English

beaver · rank #12,733 · 8 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #12,733
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 8 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,121
  • PHOTO-FINISH Barton

Nearest frequency peer: Barton (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “beaver”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “beaver” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

beaver vs beer
67% similar
beaver vs brave
67% similar
beaver vs bevel
67% similar

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

Key facts for beaver
PropertyValue
Headwordbeaver
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈbiːvə/
Letters6
Frequency rank#12,733
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “beaver”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).beaverlands here:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “Barton” (#12,732), “bale” (#12,731), “Brunswick” (#12,735). Among 4,121 “B” headwords, “beaver” is #12,733. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 8 spelling variants around beaver (IPA /ˈbiːvə/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #12,733 among 4,121 “B” headwords. Wiktionary lists 12 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for beaver, with forms such as "baever", "bbeaver", and "beaevr". 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 20 confusable-pair relationships, "beer", "brave", "bevel", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English bever, from Old English befer, from Proto-West Germanic *bebru, from Proto-Germanic *bebruz, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰébʰrus (“beaver”). Cognate with West Frisian bever, Dutch bever, French bièvre, German Biber, dialectal Swedish bjur… The correct English form is beaver, spelled B-E-A-V-E-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    A semiaquatic rodent of the genus Castor, having a wide, flat tail and webbed feet, native to the Northern Hemisphere.
  2. 2
    The fur of the beaver.
  3. 3
    A hat, of various shapes, made from a felted beaver fur (or later of silk), fashionable in Europe between 1550 and 1850.
  4. 4
    Beaver pelts as an article of exchange or as a standard of value.
  5. 5
    Beaver cloth, a heavy felted woollen cloth, used chiefly for making overcoats.
  6. 6
    A brown colour, like that of a beaver.
  7. 7
    A move in response to being doubled, in which one immediately doubles the stakes again, keeping the doubling cube on one’s own side of the board.
  8. 8
    Alternative letter-case form of Beaver (“member of the youngest wing of the Scout movement”).
  9. 9
    A beard or a bearded person.
  10. 10
    A game, in which points are scored by spotting beards.
  11. 11
    The pubic hair near a vulva or a vulva itself; (attributively) denoting films or literature featuring nude women.
  12. 12
    A woman, especially one who is sexually attractive.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how beaver appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Then, for the safeguard of his personage, He did appoint a warlike equipage Of foreign beasts, not in the forest bred, But part by land and part by water fed; For tyranny is with strange aid supported. Then unto him all monstrous beasts resorted Bred of two kinds, as Griffons, Minotaurs, Crocodiles, Dragons, Beavers, and Centaurs: With those himself he st…
  2. a broad beaver slouched over his eyes

Etymology

From Middle English bever, from Old English befer, from Proto-West Germanic *bebru, from Proto-Germanic *bebruz, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰébʰrus (“beaver”). Cognate with West Frisian bever, Dutch bever, French bièvre, German Biber, dialectal Swedish bjur. Non-Germanic cognates include Welsh befer, Latin fiber, Lithuanian bẽbras, Russian бобр (bobr), Avestan 𐬠𐬀𐬎𐬎𐬭𐬀 (bauura), and Sanskrit बभ्रु (bábhru, “mongoose; ichneumon”). Slang use to refer to a woman evolved from use to refer to pubic hair, which evolved from use to refer to beards, which evolved from use to refer to the furry animal or its fur.

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • baever
  • bbeaver
  • beaevr
  • beaverr
  • beavre
  • beavver
  • bevaer
  • ebaver

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

baever2bbeaver1beaevr2beaverr1beavre2beavver1bevaer2ebaver2
Edit distance from "beaver"

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 "beaver"?
"beaver" is spelled B-E-A-V-E-R. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈbiːvə/.
What does "beaver" mean?
As a noun, "beaver" means: A semiaquatic rodent of the genus Castor, having a wide, flat tail and webbed feet, native to the Northern Hemisphere.
What words are commonly confused with "beaver"?
"beaver" is commonly confused with "beer", "brave", "bevel". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "beaver"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "beaver" is /ˈbiːvə/. 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 "beaver"?
From Middle English bever, from Old English befer, from Proto-West Germanic *bebru, from Proto-Germanic *bebruz, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰébʰrus (“beaver”). Cognate with West Frisian bever, Dutch bever, French bièvre, German Biber, dialectal Sw... 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.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "beaver", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (8 here; floor ≥5).

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list