ben
/bɛn/preposition, adverb, adjective, noun
ben is spelled B-E-N: 3 letters and one syllable. It appears 49 times per million words in written English, the 2,072nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). People search “been vs ben” about 50 times a month (Google, United States). As a preposition, ben means “In, into” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in ben?
| Letters | 3: B-E-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 49 times per million words; the 2,072nd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Pairs people search | |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is ben?
Ben appears 49 times per million words in written English, the 2,072nd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce ben?
- /bɛn/
- /bɪn/
Ben has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-ben.wav, En-au-Ben.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with ben
Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).
Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with ben?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as ben.
Spelled with the same letters in another order: neb.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of ben
- bens plural
- bene
- benner comparative
- benmost superlative
- bin
- benar comparative
- benat superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does ben mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
preposition
- 1
ScotlandIn, into.
adverb
- 1
ScotlandInside.
adjective
- 1
Inner, interior.
- 2
UKobsoleteAlternative spelling of bene; good.
noun
- 1
ScotlandThe inner room of a two-room cottage (as opposed to the but); the ben room.
- 2
A tree, Moringa oleifera or horseradish tree of Arabia and India, which produces oil of ben.
- 3
The winged seed of the ben tree.
- 4
The oil of the ben seed.
- 5
Son of (used with Hebrew and Arabic surnames).
- 6
A Scottish or Irish mountain or high peak.
- 7
obsoleteA prayer; a petition.
- 8
UKobsoleteslangA benefit (performance to raise funds).
In the Chronicles of the Stage, some curious particulars are given relating to Sir Henry Herbert and the well-known Sir William Davidson, by which we learn, amongst other things, that a “ben” or benefit at Drury Lane, two centuries ago, was
- 9
IrelandAlternative form of bin.
noun
- 1
USslangA US$100 bill, which bears a portrait of Benjamin Franklin. Often used in the plural form to indicate large sums of money.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Where does ben come from?
From Middle English ben, bene, variation of bin, binne (“within”), from Old English binnan (“within, in, inside of, into”), equivalent to be- + in.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).