bier

Name: bier, English Word Data
Creator: Wiktionary
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

/bɪə/

//bɪə// noun

By PlainSpell · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) · analyzed May 6, 2026

The verdict

“bier” is uncommon English (frequency #55,279 among 31,241 “B” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#55,279
frequency rank, English: 31,241
“B” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A litter to transport the corpse of a dead person.

Key facts for bier
Property	Value
Headword	bier
Language	English
Part of speech	Noun
IPA	/bɪə/
Letters	4
Frequency rank	#55,279
Misspellings tracked	0
Confusable pairs	0
Source	Wiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “bier” 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). bier lands here:

#55,279

#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

bier is uncommon English at frequency #55,279 among 31,241 “B” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /bɪə/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

No misspelling variants are generated for bier in our index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English beer, beere, bere, from Old English bēr, (West Saxon) bǣr (“stretcher, bier”), from Proto-West Germanic *bāru, from Proto-Germanic *bērō, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰer- (“to carry, bear”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian Beere (“stretche… The correct English form is bier, spelled B-I-E-R.

Definition

1
A litter to transport the corpse of a dead person.
2
A platform or stand where a body or coffin is placed.
3
A count of forty threads in the warp or chain of woollen cloth.

Etymology

From Middle English beer, beere, bere, from Old English bēr, (West Saxon) bǣr (“stretcher, bier”), from Proto-West Germanic *bāru, from Proto-Germanic *bērō, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰer- (“to carry, bear”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian Beere (“stretcher, bier”), Dutch baar (“bier”), German Bahre (“bier, stretcher”). More at bear.

This word in other languages

camilla(Español)civière(Français)Bahre(Deutsch)

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 "bier"?

"bier" is spelled B-I-E-R. The IPA pronunciation is /bɪə/.

What does "bier" mean?

As a noun, "bier" means: A litter to transport the corpse of a dead person.

How do you pronounce "bier"?

The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "bier" is /bɪə/. 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 "bier"?

From Middle English beer, beere, bere, from Old English bēr, (West Saxon) bǣr (“stretcher, bier”), from Proto-West Germanic *bāru, from Proto-Germanic *bērō, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰer- (“to carry, bear”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian Beere ... 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 “bier”

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

The one correct English spelling is B-I-E-R - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
Say it as /bɪə/ (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.