befall
/bɪˈfɔːl/
"befall" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“befall” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #41,010. The variants make it a useful spelling check.
- #41,010
- frequency rank, English
- 4,121
- “B” headwords
- 7
- tracked misspellings
- 4
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To fall upon; fall all over; overtake.
Corpus desk
Index EN-befall · befall · English
befall · rank #41,010 · 7 variants · 4 confusables
- FREQ-MID #41,010
- LEN-LONG 6 letters
- VOW-2 2 vowels
- CONFUS-MID 4 pairs
- VAR-MID 7 variants
- BOOK-MID 4,121
- PHOTO-FINISH bauxite
Nearest frequency peer: bauxite (-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.
Frequency neighbourhood for “befall”
Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)
- Barak
Barak
58,994 corpus weight
- barium
barium
58,993 corpus weight
- bauxite
bauxite
58,992 corpus weight
- befall
befall
58,991 corpus weight
- behead
behead
58,990 corpus weight
- bellied
bellied
58,989 corpus weight
What this shows Bars show where “befall” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.
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 | befall |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /bɪˈfɔːl/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #41,010 |
| Misspellings tracked | 7 |
| Confusable pairs | 4 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “befall” sits in English frequency
A misspelling magnet
The generator records 7 spelling variants around befall (IPA /bɪˈfɔːl/), averb. Corpus frequency is #41,010 among 4,121 “B” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.
Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for befall, with forms such as "bbefall", "beafll", and "befal". 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 4 confusable-pair relationships, "bell", "behalf", "ball", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English bifallen, from Old English befeallan, from Proto-West Germanic *bifallan, from Proto-Germanic *bifallaną; equivalent to be- + fall. The correct English form is befall, spelled B-E-F-A-L-L.
Definition
- 1To fall upon; fall all over; overtake.
- 2To happen.
- 3To happen to.
- 4To fall.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how befall appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
At dusk an unusual calm befalls the wetlands.
It befell in the days of Uther Pendragon [...] that there was a mighty duke in Cornwall that held war against him long time.
Etymology
From Middle English bifallen, from Old English befeallan, from Proto-West Germanic *bifallan, from Proto-Germanic *bifallaną; equivalent to be- + fall.
Synonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as:
- bbefall
- beafll
- befal
- beffall
- beflal
- bfeall
- ebfall
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of befall - 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
How do you spell "befall"?
What does "befall" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "befall"?
How do you pronounce "befall"?
What is the origin of the word "befall"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "befall", 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 (7 here; floor ≥5).
What to do next
You've looked up "befall". Here's where to go from here.
- "befall" maps to 4 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "bell". View pair
- 7 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
- Usage frequency rank #41,010 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
- Browse more English words in the "B" letter cohort. B–Z browse
- PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day
PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.
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.