belling

/ˈbɛlɪŋ/

//ˈbɛlɪŋ// noun

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

"belling" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“belling” is uncommon English (frequency #92,377 among 31,241 “B” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#92,377
frequency rank, English
31,241
“B” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Bellowing; the sound of a male deer during the rutting season

Key facts for belling
PropertyValue
Headwordbelling
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈbɛlɪŋ/
Letters7
Frequency rank#92,377
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “belling” 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). belling lands here:

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

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

Rare enough to double-check

belling is uncommon English at frequency #92,377 among 31,241 “B” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈbɛlɪŋ/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for belling, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English bellynge, equivalent to bell + -ing. The correct English form is belling, spelled B-E-L-L-I-N-G.

Definition

  1. 1
    Bellowing; the sound of a male deer during the rutting season
  2. 2
    A shivaree.

Etymology

From Middle English bellynge, equivalent to bell + -ing.

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 "belling"?
"belling" is spelled B-E-L-L-I-N-G. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈbɛlɪŋ/.
What does "belling" mean?
As a noun, "belling" means: Bellowing; the sound of a male deer during the rutting season
How do you pronounce "belling"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "belling" is /ˈbɛlɪŋ/. 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 "belling"?
From Middle English bellynge, equivalent to bell + -ing. 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 “belling”

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

  • The one correct English spelling is B-E-L-L-I-N-G - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /ˈbɛlɪŋ/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words

Other uncommon English words near this rank

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