beret

/ˈbɛɹeɪ/

//ˈbɛɹeɪ// noun

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

"beret" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“beret” has 5 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #31,873. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#31,873
frequency rank, English
4,121
“B” headwords
5
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A type of round, brimless cap with a soft top and a headband to secure it to the head; usually culturally associated with France.

Corpus desk

Index EN-beret · beret · English

beret · rank #31,873 · 5 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #31,873
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 5 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,121
  • PHOTO-FINISH Beowulf

Nearest frequency peer: Beowulf (-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 “beret”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “beret” 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).

beret vs bet
60% similar
beret vs best
60% similar
beret vs bore
60% similar

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

Key facts for beret
PropertyValue
Headwordberet
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈbɛɹeɪ/
Letters5
Frequency rank#31,873
Misspellings tracked5
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “beret”

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).beretlands here:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “Beowulf” (#31,872), “Bharatiya” (#31,874), “Batista” (#31,870). Among 4,121 “B” headwords, “beret” is #31,873. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 5 spelling variants around beret (IPA /ˈbɛɹeɪ/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #31,873 among 4,121 “B” headwords. Dominant gloss: "A type of round, brimless cap with a soft top and a headband to secure it to the head; usually culturally associated with France.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 5 likely wrong-spelling variants for beret, with forms such as "bberet", "berett", and "berret". 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 20 confusable-pair relationships, "bet", "best", "bore", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from French béret, from Occitan (Gascon) berret (“cap”), from Old Occitan berret, from Medieval Latin birretum, from Late Latin birrus (“large hooded cloak”), from Gaulish birrus (“short cloak”), from Proto-Celtic *birros (“short”) (compare Welsh b… The correct English form is beret, spelled B-E-R-E-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    A type of round, brimless cap with a soft top and a headband to secure it to the head; usually culturally associated with France.

Etymology

Borrowed from French béret, from Occitan (Gascon) berret (“cap”), from Old Occitan berret, from Medieval Latin birretum, from Late Latin birrus (“large hooded cloak”), from Gaulish birrus (“short cloak”), from Proto-Celtic *birros (“short”) (compare Welsh byr, Middle Irish berr). Compare biretta.

This word in other languages

boina(Español)béret(Français)Barett(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • bberet
  • berett
  • berret
  • berte
  • breet

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of beret - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

bberet1berett1berret1berte2breet2
Edit distance from "beret"

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 "beret"?
"beret" is spelled B-E-R-E-T. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈbɛɹeɪ/.
What does "beret" mean?
As a noun, "beret" means: A type of round, brimless cap with a soft top and a headband to secure it to the head; usually culturally associated with France.
What words are commonly confused with "beret"?
"beret" is commonly confused with "bet", "best", "bore". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "beret"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "beret" is /ˈbɛɹeɪ/. 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 "beret"?
Borrowed from French béret, from Occitan (Gascon) berret (“cap”), from Old Occitan berret, from Medieval Latin birretum, from Late Latin birrus (“large hooded cloak”), from Gaulish birrus (“short cloak”), from Proto-Celtic *birros (“short”) (compa... 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 "beret", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

bogey#31,877boron#31,881ASCII#31,860bugle#31,888

Similar misspelling depth

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

Aust5 variantsVoIP5 variantsvive5 variantscurd5 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list