bice

/baɪs/

//baɪs// noun

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

"bice" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“bice” is uncommon English (frequency #89,156 among 31,241 “B” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#89,156
frequency rank, English
31,241
“B” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A pale blue pigment, prepared from the native blue carbonate of copper, or from smalt.

Key facts for bice
PropertyValue
Headwordbice
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/baɪs/
Letters4
Frequency rank#89,156
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “bice” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). bice lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

bice is uncommon English at frequency #89,156 among 31,241 “B” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /baɪs/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for bice, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From French bis, akin to Italian bigio (“light gray, tawny”). Doublet of beige. The correct English form is bice, spelled B-I-C-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A pale blue pigment, prepared from the native blue carbonate of copper, or from smalt.
  2. 2
    A cobalt blue pigment.

Etymology

From French bis, akin to Italian bigio (“light gray, tawny”). Doublet of beige.

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 "bice"?
"bice" is spelled B-I-C-E. The IPA pronunciation is /baɪs/.
What does "bice" mean?
As a noun, "bice" means: A pale blue pigment, prepared from the native blue carbonate of copper, or from smalt.
How do you pronounce "bice"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "bice" is /baɪs/. 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 "bice"?
From French bis, akin to Italian bigio (“light gray, tawny”). Doublet of beige. 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.

Using “bice”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is B-I-C-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /baɪs/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words

Other uncommon English words near this rank

Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list