# berry

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈbɛɹi/ · frequency rank #7,419

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

## 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.

## Easily confused with
- **bey** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/berry-vs-bey)
- **bury** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/berry-vs-bury)
- **Bert** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/berry-vs-bert)
- **burr** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/berry-vs-burr)
- **bray** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/berry-vs-bray)
- **bevy** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/berry-vs-bevy)
- **betty** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/berry-vs-betty)
- **berth** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/berry-vs-berth)
- **Betsy** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/berry-vs-betsy)
- **beryl** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/berry-vs-beryl)
- **burly** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/berry-vs-burly)
- **birdy** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/berry-vs-birdy)
- **betray** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/berry-vs-betray)
- **blurry** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/berry-vs-blurry)
- **ber** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ber-vs-berry)
- **bear** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bear-vs-berry)
- **beer** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/beer-vs-berry)
- **barr** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/barr-vs-berry)
- **berg** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/berg-vs-berry)
- **Bern** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bern-vs-berry)

## Common misspellings (6)
`bberry`, `berryy`, `bery`, `beryr`, `brery`, `ebrry`

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