# bento

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈbɛntəʊ/ · frequency rank #41,526

## Definitions
1. A Japanese takeaway lunch served in a box, often with the food arranged into an elaborate design.
2. Synonym of bento box (“a partitioned, traditionally lacquered, lunchbox in which a Japanese takeaway lunch is served”).
3. A generic meal packed in a disposable bento box.
4. A menu icon of nine squares in a grid.
5. A layout consisting of cards arranged in a modular, irregularly partitioned grid.

## Etymology
Borrowed from Japanese 弁(べん)当(とう) (bentō). Doublet of biandang.

## Easily confused with
- **bet** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bento-vs-bet)
- **best** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bento-vs-best)
- **beta** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bento-vs-beta)
- **beth** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bento-vs-beth)
- **bets** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bento-vs-bets)
- **Benz** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bento-vs-benz)
- **Bert** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bento-vs-bert)
- **bunt** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bento-vs-bunt)
- **Beto** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bento-vs-beto)
- **betty** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bento-vs-betty)
- **bingo** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bento-vs-bingo)
- **Brent** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bento-vs-brent)
- **berth** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bento-vs-berth)
- **Bette** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bento-vs-bette)
- **bongo** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bento-vs-bongo)
- **betta** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bento-vs-betta)
- **bests** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bento-vs-bests)
- **Benton** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bento-vs-benton)
- **bestow** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bento-vs-bestow)
- **ben** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ben-vs-bento)

## Common misspellings (7)
`bbento`, `bennto`, `benot`, `bentto`, `betno`, `bneto`, `ebnto`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/bento