berth

/bɜːθ/

//bɜːθ// noun

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

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

The verdict

“berth” has 8 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #16,179. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#16,179
frequency rank, English
4,121
“B” headwords
8
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Chiefly in wide berth: a sufficient space in the water for a ship or other vessel to lie at anchor or manoeuvre without getting in the way of other vessels, or colliding into rocks or the shore.

Corpus desk

Index EN-berth · berth · English

berth · rank #16,179 · 8 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #16,179
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 8 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,121
  • PHOTO-FINISH bead

Nearest frequency peer: bead (-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 “berth”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “berth” 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).

berth vs bet
60% similar
berth vs best
60% similar
berth vs both
60% similar

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

Key facts for berth
PropertyValue
Headwordberth
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/bɜːθ/
Letters5
Frequency rank#16,179
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “berth”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).berthlands 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 “bead” (#16,178), “barring” (#16,177), “blackmail” (#16,181). Among 4,121 “B” headwords, “berth” is #16,179. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 8 spelling variants around berth (IPA /bɜːθ/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #16,179 among 4,121 “B” headwords. Wiktionary lists 12 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for berth, with forms such as "bberth", "berht", and "berrth". 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", "both", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: The noun is derived from Late Middle English birth (“(nautical) bearing away or off, clearance, berth”). Further etymology uncertain, but probably from beren (“to carry (away), bear”) + -th (suffix denoting a condition, quality, state of being, etc., formin… The correct English form is berth, spelled B-E-R-T-H.

Definition

  1. 1
    Chiefly in wide berth: a sufficient space in the water for a ship or other vessel to lie at anchor or manoeuvre without getting in the way of other vessels, or colliding into rocks or the shore.
  2. 2
    Chiefly in wide berth: a sufficient space in the water for a ship or other vessel to lie at anchor or manoeuvre without getting in the way of other vessels, or colliding into rocks or the shore.
  3. 3
    Chiefly in wide berth: a sufficient space in the water for a ship or other vessel to lie at anchor or manoeuvre without getting in the way of other vessels, or colliding into rocks or the shore.
  4. 4
    Chiefly in wide berth: a sufficient space in the water for a ship or other vessel to lie at anchor or manoeuvre without getting in the way of other vessels, or colliding into rocks or the shore.
  5. 5
    An assigned place for a person in (chiefly historical) a horse-drawn coach or other means of transportation, or (military) in a barracks.
  6. 6
    A bunk or other bed for sleeping on in a caravan, a train, etc.
  7. 7
    A place for a vehicle on land to park.
  8. 8
    An appointment, job, or position, especially one regarded as comfortable or good.
  9. 9
    Chiefly in wide berth: a sufficient space for manoeuvring or safety.
  10. 10
    A proper place for a thing.
  11. 11
    A position or seed in a tournament bracket.
  12. 12
    A position on a field of play.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Tho' vve vvere again got near our harbour by three in the afternoon, yet it ſeemed to require a full hour or more, before vve could come to our former place of anchoring, or birth, as the captain called it.
  2. "[…] She lays close to the Endymion, between her and the Cleopatra, just to the eastward of the sheer hulk." / "Ha!" cried William, "that's just where I should have put her myself. It's the best birth at Spithead.[…]"

Etymology

The noun is derived from Late Middle English birth (“(nautical) bearing away or off, clearance, berth”). Further etymology uncertain, but probably from beren (“to carry (away), bear”) + -th (suffix denoting a condition, quality, state of being, etc., forming nouns); if so, the English word is analysable as bear + -th (suffix forming nouns from verbs), and is a piecewise doublet of birth. The verb is derived from the noun.

This word in other languages

embarcadero(Español)marge de manœuvre(Français)Bootssteg(Deutsch)vaga(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • bberth
  • berht
  • berrth
  • berthh
  • bertth
  • betrh
  • breth
  • ebrth

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of berth - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

bberth1berht2berrth1berthh1bertth1betrh2breth2ebrth2
Edit distance from "berth"

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 "berth"?
"berth" is spelled B-E-R-T-H. The IPA pronunciation is /bɜːθ/.
What does "berth" mean?
As a noun, "berth" means: Chiefly in wide berth: a sufficient space in the water for a ship or other vessel to lie at anchor or manoeuvre without getting in the way of other vessels, or colliding into rocks or the shore.
What words are commonly confused with "berth"?
"berth" is commonly confused with "bet", "best", "both". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "berth"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "berth" is /bɜːθ/. 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 "berth"?
The noun is derived from Late Middle English birth (“(nautical) bearing away or off, clearance, berth”). Further etymology uncertain, but probably from beren (“to carry (away), bear”) + -th (suffix denoting a condition, quality, state of being, et... 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 "berth", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

Carla#16,193Wally#16,163Dewey#16,212stump#16,143

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (8 here; floor ≥5).

barring8 variantsaiding8 variantsageing8 variantsuneasy8 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list