berry

/ˈbɛɹi/

//ˈbɛɹi// noun

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

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

The verdict

“berry” has 6 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #7,419. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#7,419
frequency rank, English
4,121
“B” headwords
6
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A small succulent fruit, of any one of many varieties.

Corpus desk

Index EN-berry · berry · English

berry · rank #7,419 · 6 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #7,419
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 6 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,121
  • PHOTO-FINISH bachelor

Nearest frequency peer: bachelor (-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 “berry”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “berry” 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).

berry vs bey
60% similar
berry vs bury
60% similar
berry vs Bert
40% similar

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

Key facts for berry
PropertyValue
Headwordberry
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈbɛɹi/
Letters5
Frequency rank#7,419
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “berry”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).berrylands 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 “bachelor” (#7,418), “billions” (#7,420), “autism” (#7,417). Among 4,121 “B” headwords, “berry” is #7,419. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 6 spelling variants around berry (IPA /ˈbɛɹi/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #7,419 among 4,121 “B” headwords. Wiktionary lists 6 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for berry, with forms such as "bberry", "berryy", and "bery". 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, "bey", "bury", "Bert", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: Etymology tree Proto-Germanic *bazją Proto-West Germanic *baʀi Old English berġe Middle English berye English berry From Middle English berye, from Old English berġe, from Proto-West Germanic *baʀi, from Proto-Germanic *bazją. Cognate with Saterland Frisian… The correct English form is berry, spelled B-E-R-R-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    A small succulent fruit, of any one of many varieties.
  2. 2
    A soft fruit which develops from a single ovary and contains seeds not encased in pits.
  3. 3
    A coffee bean.
  4. 4
    One of the ova or eggs of a fish or crustacean.
  5. 5
    A police car.
  6. 6
    A dollar.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. The crabs carry their berries for six months.
  2. That is the only restriction existing: not even small fish or fish in berry, and there are no restrictions on soft-shelled fish.

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Germanic *bazją Proto-West Germanic *baʀi Old English berġe Middle English berye English berry From Middle English berye, from Old English berġe, from Proto-West Germanic *baʀi, from Proto-Germanic *bazją. Cognate with Saterland Frisian Bäie, West Flemish beier, German Beere, Icelandic ber, Danish bær. The slang sense "police car" may come from the lights on the vehicles' roofs.

Synonyms

berry

This word in other languages

baya(Español)baie(Français)Beere(Deutsch)baga(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • bberry
  • berryy
  • bery
  • beryr
  • brery
  • ebrry

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

bberry1berryy1bery1beryr2brery2ebrry2
Edit distance from "berry"

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 "berry"?
"berry" is spelled B-E-R-R-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈbɛɹi/.
What does "berry" mean?
As a noun, "berry" means: A small succulent fruit, of any one of many varieties.
What words are commonly confused with "berry"?
"berry" is commonly confused with "bey", "bury", "Bert". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "berry"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "berry" is /ˈbɛɹi/. 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 "berry"?
Etymology tree Proto-Germanic *bazją Proto-West Germanic *baʀi Old English berġe Middle English berye English berry From Middle English berye, from Old English berġe, from Proto-West Germanic *baʀi, from Proto-Germanic *bazją. Cognate with Saterla... 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 "berry", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

Brady#7,421armor#7,416ankle#7,415bulls#7,423

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (6 here; floor ≥5).

clan6 variantsVienna6 variantsruby6 variantshers6 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list