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PlainSpell

bib

/bɪb/noun, verb

bib is spelled B-I-B: 3 letters and one syllable. It appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 30,017th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). 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” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of bib is bibs.

How many letters and syllables are in bib?

Letters3: B-I-B
Syllables1 (from its American pronunciation)
In writingabout once in every 1 million words; the 30,017th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search
Pairs people search

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026).

How common is bib?

Bib appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 30,017th most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce bib?

  • /bɪb/

Bib has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-bib.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Words people confuse with bib

Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).

bib vs bibb0 B

Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).

Forms of bib

  • bibs plural, present, singular, he/she/it
  • bibbing participle, present
  • bibbed participle, past

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does bib mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

noun

  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.

verb

  1. 1

    To dress (somebody) in a bib.

  2. 2

    archaicTo drink heartily; to tipple.

  3. 3

    informalTo beep (e.g. a car horn).

phrase

as BIB
  1. 1

    informalInitialism of brought in by.

    BIB mum

  2. 2

    Abbreviation of business is business.

  3. 3

    Initialism of bottled in bond.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Bib in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchbavoir, bavette (item of clothing for protecting other clothes…), dossard (sports: piece of material carrying the bib…), chasuble (sports: colourful vest)
GermanLätzchen, Latz (item of clothing for protecting other clothes…), Startnummer (sports: piece of material carrying the bib…), Leibchen, Trainingsleibchen (sports: colourful vest)
Portuguesebabador, bibe (item of clothing for protecting other clothes…), colete (sports: colourful vest), peitilho (upper part of an apron or overalls)
Spanishbabero (item of clothing for protecting other clothes…), peto, pechera (sports: colourful vest)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does bib come from?

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

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after bib