bee

/ˈbiː/

//ˈbiː// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"bee" is a 3-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“bee” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #6,114 in English word frequency and used as a noun.

#6,114
frequency rank, English
3
letters
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A flying insect, of the clade Anthophila within the hymenopteran superfamily Apoidea, known for its organised societies (though only a minority have them), for collecting pollen and (in some specie...

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

bee vs by
33% similar
bee vs bi
33% similar
bee vs BS
0% similar

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

Key facts for bee
PropertyValue
Headwordbee
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈbiː/
Letters3
Frequency rank#6,114
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “bee” sits in English frequency

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

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for bee is 3 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈbiː/. Corpus data places it at rank #6,114 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for bee, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "by", "bi", "BS", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *bʰey-der. Proto-Germanic *bijǭ Proto-West Germanic *bijā Old English bēo Middle English bee English bee From Middle English bee, from Old English bēo (“bee”), from Proto-West Germanic *bijā, from Proto-Germanic *bijǭ (“be… The correct English form is bee, spelled B-E-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A flying insect, of the clade Anthophila within the hymenopteran superfamily Apoidea, known for its organised societies (though only a minority have them), for collecting pollen and (in some species) producing wax and honey.
  2. 2
    Any stinging flying insect, especially a wasp.

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *bʰey-der. Proto-Germanic *bijǭ Proto-West Germanic *bijā Old English bēo Middle English bee English bee From Middle English bee, from Old English bēo (“bee”), from Proto-West Germanic *bijā, from Proto-Germanic *bijǭ (“bee”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰey- (“bee”). Cognates Cognate with West Frisian bij (“bee”), Dutch bij, by (“bee”), German Biene (“bee”), Limburgish Bé, bie (“bee”), Luxembourgish Bei (“bee”), Vilamovian byn (“bee”), West Flemish bieë (“bee”), Yiddish בין (bin, “bee”), Danish, Swedish bi (“bee”), Faroese býfluga (“bee”), Icelandic bý, býfluga (“bee”), Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk bie (“bee”).

Synonyms

king of insects

This word in other languages

abeja(Español)abeille(Français)Biene(Deutsch)abelha(Português)

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 "bee"?
"bee" is spelled B-E-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈbiː/.
What does "bee" mean?
As a noun, "bee" means: A flying insect, of the clade Anthophila within the hymenopteran superfamily Apoidea, known for its organised societies (though only a minority have them), for collecting pollen and (in some specie...
What words are commonly confused with "bee"?
"bee" is commonly confused with "by", "bi", "BS". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "bee"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "bee" is /ˈbiː/. 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 "bee"?
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *bʰey-der. Proto-Germanic *bijǭ Proto-West Germanic *bijā Old English bēo Middle English bee English bee From Middle English bee, from Old English bēo (“bee”), from Proto-West Germanic *bijā, from Proto-Germanic ... 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.

Using “bee”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is B-E-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /ˈbiː/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “by” - see the side-by-side comparison. bee vs by
  • 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list