bilge
/bɪld͡ʒ/
"bilge" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“bilge” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #43,058 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #43,058
- frequency rank, English
- 5
- letters
- 6
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The rounded portion of a ship's hull, forming a transition between the bottom and the sides.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | bilge |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /bɪld͡ʒ/ |
| Letters | 5 |
| Frequency rank | #43,058 |
| Misspellings tracked | 6 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “bilge” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for bilge is 5 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /bɪld͡ʒ/. Corpus data places it at rank #43,058 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 5 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for bilge, with forms such as "bbilge", "bigle", and "bileg". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "BLE", "bill", "blue", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: Likely derived from bulge. Compare Middle English bulgen (“to ground or scuttle a ship”). The correct English form is bilge, spelled B-I-L-G-E.
Definition
- 1The rounded portion of a ship's hull, forming a transition between the bottom and the sides.
- 2The lowest inner part of a ship's hull, where water accumulates.
- 3The water accumulated in the bilge; bilge water.
- 4Stupid talk or writing; nonsense.
- 5The bulging part of a barrel or cask.
Etymology
Likely derived from bulge. Compare Middle English bulgen (“to ground or scuttle a ship”).
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: bbilge,bigle,bileg,bilgge,billge,iblge
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of bilge - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.
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 “bilge”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is B-I-L-G-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /bɪld͡ʒ/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “BLE” - see the side-by-side comparison. bilge vs BLE
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
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.