bellows

/ˈbɛl.oʊz/

//ˈbɛl.oʊz// noun

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

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

The verdict

“bellows” has 9 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #26,342. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#26,342
frequency rank, English
4,121
“B” headwords
9
tracked misspellings
7
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A device for delivering pressurized air in a controlled quantity to a controlled location. At its most simple terms a bellows is a container which is deformable in such a way as to alter its volume...

Corpus desk

Index EN-bellows · bellows · English

bellows · rank #26,342 · 9 variants · 7 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #26,342
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 7 pairs
  • VAR-MID 9 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,121
  • PHOTO-FINISH beets

Nearest frequency peer: beets (-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 “bellows”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “bellows” 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).

bellows vs below
71% similar
bellows vs blows
71% similar
bellows vs bells
71% similar

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

Key facts for bellows
PropertyValue
Headwordbellows
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈbɛl.oʊz/
Letters7
Frequency rank#26,342
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs7
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “bellows”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).bellowslands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “beets” (#26,341), “battleground” (#26,340), “blob” (#26,344). Among 4,121 “B” headwords, “bellows” is #26,342. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 9 spelling variants around bellows (IPA /ˈbɛl.oʊz/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #26,342 among 4,121 “B” headwords. Wiktionary lists 5 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for bellows, with forms such as "bbellows", "bellosw", and "bellowss". 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 7 confusable-pair relationships, "below", "blows", "bells", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English belwes, plural of belu, belwe, a northern form of beli, from Old English bæliġ, northern form of bielġ, from Proto-Germanic *balgiz. Compare German Balg. See also belly. For the pronunciation /ˈbɛl.əs/, compare bodice, gallows. The correct English form is bellows, spelled B-E-L-L-O-W-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    A device for delivering pressurized air in a controlled quantity to a controlled location. At its most simple terms a bellows is a container which is deformable in such a way as to alter its volume which has an outlet or outlets where one wishes to blow air.
  2. 2
    Any flexible container or enclosure, as one used to cover a moving joint.
  3. 3
    The lungs.
  4. 4
    Flexible, light-tight enclosures connecting the lensboard and the camera back.
  5. 5
    That which fans the fire of hatred, jealousy, etc.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. When wood fires were common, so were bellows for helping start them.
  2. That concertina was a wonder in its way. The handles that was on it first was wore out long ago, and he'd made new ones of braided rope yarn. And the bellows was patched in more places than a cranberry picker's overalls.

Etymology

From Middle English belwes, plural of belu, belwe, a northern form of beli, from Old English bæliġ, northern form of bielġ, from Proto-Germanic *balgiz. Compare German Balg. See also belly. For the pronunciation /ˈbɛl.əs/, compare bodice, gallows.

This word in other languages

fuelle(Español)soufflet(Français)Blasebalg(Deutsch)fole(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • bbellows
  • bellosw
  • bellowss
  • bellowws
  • bellwos
  • belolws
  • belows
  • blelows
  • ebllows

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

bbellows1bellosw2bellowss1bellowws1bellwos2belolws2belows1blelows2
Edit distance from "bellows"

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 "bellows"?
"bellows" is spelled B-E-L-L-O-W-S. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈbɛl.oʊz/.
What does "bellows" mean?
As a noun, "bellows" means: A device for delivering pressurized air in a controlled quantity to a controlled location. At its most simple terms a bellows is a container which is deformable in such a way as to alter its volume...
What words are commonly confused with "bellows"?
"bellows" is commonly confused with "below", "blows", "bells". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "bellows"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "bellows" is /ˈbɛl.oʊz/. 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 "bellows"?
From Middle English belwes, plural of belu, belwe, a northern form of beli, from Old English bæliġ, northern form of bielġ, from Proto-Germanic *balgiz. Compare German Balg. See also belly. For the pronunciation /ˈbɛl.əs/, compare bodice, gallows. 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 "bellows", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Bateman#26,339bluntly#26,345Bohemia#26,346averted#26,335

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (9 here; floor ≥5).

banish9 variantsCAPCOM9 variantscarlin9 variantsAdriana9 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list