bigly
/ˈbɪɡ.li/
"bigly" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“bigly” is uncommon English (frequency #61,310 among 31,241 “B” headwords), classed as an adverb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #61,310
- frequency rank, English
- 31,241
- “B” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - In a big way, greatly; to a great extent, on a large scale.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | bigly |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adverb |
| IPA | /ˈbɪɡ.li/ |
| Letters | 5 |
| Frequency rank | #61,310 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “bigly” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
bigly is uncommon English at frequency #61,310 among 31,241 “B” headwords, classed as anadverb, transcribed /ˈbɪɡ.li/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.
bigly has no tracked misspelling variants, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English bygly, byggly, biggely. By surface analysis, big (“of great size, large (adjective); to a large extent, on a large scale; hard (adverb)”) + -ly. The correct English form is bigly, spelled B-I-G-L-Y.
Definition
- 1In a big way, greatly; to a great extent, on a large scale.
- 2Strongly, with great force.
- 3In a blustering or boastful manner; haughtily, pompously.
Etymology
From Middle English bygly, byggly, biggely. By surface analysis, big (“of great size, large (adjective); to a large extent, on a large scale; hard (adverb)”) + -ly.
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
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Using “bigly”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is B-I-G-L-Y - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈbɪɡ.li/ (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.