bilateral

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

/baɪˈlætəɹəl/

//baɪˈlætəɹəl// adj

By PlainSpell · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) · analyzed September 3, 2026

The verdict

“bilateral” has 13 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #10,817. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#10,817
frequency rank, English: 4,121
“B” headwords: 13
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Having two sides.

Corpus desk

Index EN-bilateral · bilateral · English

bilateral · rank #10,817 · 13 variants · 0 confusables

FREQ-MID #10,817
LEN-LONG 9 letters
VOW-4 4 vowels
CONFUS-0 No pairs
VAR-HIGH 13 variants
BOOK-MID 4,121
PHOTO-FINISH bleed

Nearest frequency peer: bleed (+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.

atom

89,188
auburn

89,187
awakening

89,186
bilateral

89,184
bleed

89,183
brace

89,181

What this shows “bilateral” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Key facts for bilateral
Property	Value
Headword	bilateral
Language	English
Part of speech	Adjective
IPA	/baɪˈlætəɹəl/
Letters	9
Frequency rank	#10,817
Misspellings tracked	13
Confusable pairs	0
Source	Wiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “bilateral”

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

#10,817

#1#100#1K#10K#100K

← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “bleed” (#10,818), “awakening” (#10,815), “auburn” (#10,814). Among 4,121 “B” headwords, “bilateral” is #10,817. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 13 spelling variants around bilateral (IPA /baɪˈlætəɹəl/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #10,817 among 4,121 “B” headwords. Wiktionary lists 5 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 13 likely wrong-spelling variants for bilateral, with forms such as "bbilateral", "bialteral", and "bilaetral". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

Etymologically, the entry records: From bi- + lateral. The correct English form is bilateral, spelled B-I-L-A-T-E-R-A-L.

Definition

1
Having two sides.
2
Involving both sides equally.
3
Binding on both of the two parties involved.
4
Having bilateral symmetry.
5
Involving descent or ascent regardless of sex and side of the family (bilateral linearity).

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

General Wego W.K. Chiang, secretary general of the National Security Council, said that the visit of El Salvador Vice President Merino to Taipei on behalf of President Alfredo Cristiani was in response to an invitation of the ROC [Republic of China] Government which hopes to further strengthen bilateral relations between the two countries.

Etymology

From bi- + lateral.

This word in other languages

bilateral(Español)bilatéral(Français)zweiseitig(Deutsch)bilateral(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

bbilateral
bialteral
bilaetral
bilatearl
bilaterall
bilaterla
bilaterral
bilatreal
bilatteral
billateral
biltaeral
bliateral
iblateral

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of bilateral - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

Edit distance from "bilateral"

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 "bilateral"?

"bilateral" is spelled B-I-L-A-T-E-R-A-L. The IPA pronunciation is /baɪˈlætəɹəl/.

What does "bilateral" mean?

As an adjective, "bilateral" means: Having two sides.

What are common misspellings of "bilateral"?

Common misspellings include "bbilateral", "bialteral", "bilaetral", "bilatearl", "bilaterall". The correct spelling is "bilateral".

How do you pronounce "bilateral"?

The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "bilateral" is /baɪˈlætəɹəl/. 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 "bilateral"?

From bi- + lateral. 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 "bilateral", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

awakening#10,815 compelled#10,829 concealed#10,830 dismissal#10,841

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (13 here; floor ≥5).

almighty13 variants violating13 variants undertake13 variants uncovered13 variants