bib

/bɪb/

//bɪb// noun

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

"bib" is a 3-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“bib” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #29,933) as a noun. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#29,933
frequency rank, English
4,121
“B” headwords
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - An item of clothing for people (especially babies) tied around their neck to protect their clothes from getting dirty when eating.

Corpus desk

Index EN-bib · bib · English

bib · rank #29,933 · 0 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #29,933
  • LEN-MID 3 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,121
  • PHOTO-FINISH BHP

Nearest frequency peer: BHP (-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.

Frequency neighbours of confusable “bib”

Peers at similar corpus weight, separate from look-alike pairs below

corpus weight

What this shows Bars place “bib” against nearest ranked English headwords, not a reprint of the confusable-pair desk.

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).

bib vs by
33% similar
bib vs BS
0% similar
bib vs bo
33% similar

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

Key facts for bib
PropertyValue
Headwordbib
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/bɪb/
Letters3
Frequency rank#29,933
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Corpus rank beside confusables of “bib”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).biblands 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 “BHP” (#29,932), “blackwood” (#29,935), “behemoth” (#29,930). Among 4,121 “B” headwords, “bib” is #29,933. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for bib is neighbouring look-alikes ("by", "BS", …), not just typos; it is anoun pronounced /bɪb/. Frequency #29,933 among 4,121 “B” headwords. 9 recorded senses keep meaning in play.

bib has no tracked misspelling variants, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "by", "BS", "bo", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: Originally verb sense “drink heartily”, from Middle English bibben, either from Latin bibō (“I drink”) or of imitative origin. Noun sense (clothing) presumably either because worn while drinking, or because the clothing itself “drinks up” spills. The correct English form is bib, spelled B-I-B.

Definition

  1. 1
    An item of clothing for people (especially babies) tied around their neck to protect their clothes from getting dirty when eating.
  2. 2
    Similar items of clothing such as the Chinese dudou and Vietnamese yem.
  3. 3
    A rectangular piece of material, carrying a bib number, worn as identification by competitors.
  4. 4
    A colourful polyester or plastic vest worn over one's clothes, usually to mark one's team during group activities.
  5. 5
    The upper part of an apron or overalls.
  6. 6
    Ellipsis of bib short.
  7. 7
    A patch of colour around an animal's upper breast and throat.
  8. 8
    A north Atlantic fish (Trisopterus luscus), allied to the cod.
  9. 9
    A bibb (bibcock).

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. In summer the whole throat and breast are black, but in winter plumage the throat is white bounded by a horseshoe-shaped black bib.
  2. He don't look anything like the captain. This here cat has got a nice thick black coat of fur with a nice white bib and white feet.

Etymology

Originally verb sense “drink heartily”, from Middle English bibben, either from Latin bibō (“I drink”) or of imitative origin. Noun sense (clothing) presumably either because worn while drinking, or because the clothing itself “drinks up” spills.

This word in other languages

babero(Español)bavoir(Français)Lätzchen(Deutsch)bibe(Português)

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 "bib"?
"bib" is spelled B-I-B. The IPA pronunciation is /bɪb/.
What does "bib" mean?
As a noun, "bib" means: An item of clothing for people (especially babies) tied around their neck to protect their clothes from getting dirty when eating.
What words are commonly confused with "bib"?
"bib" is commonly confused with "by", "BS", "bo". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "bib"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "bib" is /bɪb/. 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 "bib"?
Originally verb sense “drink heartily”, from Middle English bibben, either from Latin bibō (“I drink”) or of imitative origin. Noun sense (clothing) presumably either because worn while drinking, or because the clothing itself “drinks up” spills. 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 "bib", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 3 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

BHP#29,932ayr#29,925asc#29,918arg#29,917

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list