bemoan
/bɪˈməʊn/
"bemoan" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“bemoan” is an uncommon English word, ranked #67,251 in English word frequency and used as a verb.
- #67,251
- frequency rank, English
- 6
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - To moan or complain about (something).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | bemoan |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /bɪˈməʊn/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #67,251 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “bemoan” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for bemoan is 6 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /bɪˈməʊn/. Corpus data places it at rank #67,251 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
No misspelling variants are generated for bemoan in our index, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English bemenen, bimenen, from Old English bemǣnan (“to bemoan, bewail, lament”); equivalent to be- (“about, concerning”) + moan. Alteration of vowel from Middle to Modern English due to analogy with moan. The correct English form is bemoan, spelled B-E-M-O-A-N.
Definition
- 1To moan or complain about (something).
- 2To be dismayed or worried about (someone), particularly because of their situation or what has happened to them.
Etymology
From Middle English bemenen, bimenen, from Old English bemǣnan (“to bemoan, bewail, lament”); equivalent to be- (“about, concerning”) + moan. Alteration of vowel from Middle to Modern English due to analogy with moan.
This word in other languages
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
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Using “bemoan”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is B-E-M-O-A-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /bɪˈməʊn/ (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
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.