behead

/bɪˈhɛd/

//bɪˈhɛd// verb

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

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

The verdict

“behead” has 8 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #41,011. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#41,011
frequency rank, English
4,121
“B” headwords
8
tracked misspellings
6
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To deliberately remove the head of; to cut off (someone's) head.

Corpus desk

Index EN-behead · behead · English

behead · rank #41,011 · 8 variants · 6 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #41,011
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 6 pairs
  • VAR-MID 8 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,121
  • PHOTO-FINISH befall

Nearest frequency peer: befall (-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 “behead”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “behead” 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).

behead vs bread
67% similar
behead vs behind
67% similar
behead vs behold
67% similar

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

Key facts for behead
PropertyValue
Headwordbehead
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/bɪˈhɛd/
Letters6
Frequency rank#41,011
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs6
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “behead”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).beheadlands 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 “befall” (#41,010), “bellied” (#41,012), “bauxite” (#41,009). Among 4,121 “B” headwords, “behead” is #41,011. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 8 spelling variants around behead (IPA /bɪˈhɛd/), averb. Corpus frequency is #41,011 among 4,121 “B” headwords. Dominant gloss: "To deliberately remove the head of; to cut off (someone's) head.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for behead, with forms such as "bbehead", "beehad", and "behaed". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 6 confusable-pair relationships, "bread", "behind", "behold", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English beheden, bihefden, biheveden, from Old English behēafdian (“to behead”), equivalent to be- (“off, away”) + head. The correct English form is behead, spelled B-E-H-E-A-D.

Definition

  1. 1
    To deliberately remove the head of; to cut off (someone's) head.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. “For a while it was hand-to-hand between us, then blood went curling along the currents and I beheaded Grendel's mother in the hall with a mighty sword.”]

Etymology

From Middle English beheden, bihefden, biheveden, from Old English behēafdian (“to behead”), equivalent to be- (“off, away”) + head.

Synonyms

decapitatedecollate

This word in other languages

decapitar(Español)décapiter(Français)enthaupten(Deutsch)decapitar(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • bbehead
  • beehad
  • behaed
  • beheadd
  • beheda
  • behhead
  • bheead
  • ebhead

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

bbehead1beehad2behaed2beheadd1beheda2behhead1bheead2ebhead2
Edit distance from "behead"

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 "behead"?
"behead" is spelled B-E-H-E-A-D. The IPA pronunciation is /bɪˈhɛd/.
What does "behead" mean?
As a verb, "behead" means: To deliberately remove the head of; to cut off (someone's) head.
What words are commonly confused with "behead"?
"behead" is commonly confused with "bread", "behind", "behold". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "behead"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "behead" is /bɪˈhɛd/. 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 "behead"?
From Middle English beheden, bihefden, biheveden, from Old English behēafdian (“to behead”), equivalent to be- (“off, away”) + head. 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 "behead", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

befall#41,010barium#41,008bladed#41,019Buchan#41,031

Similar misspelling depth

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

bellied8 variantsBeretta8 variantsallegro8 variantscarrion8 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list