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bingo

Definition, pronunciation, etymology, and usage for the English word. Free spelling reference powered by Wiktionary.

Letters

5 characters

Language

English

word origin

Source

Wiktionary

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Detailed reference entry for the English word "bingo", 5-letters, with pronunciation in International Phonetic Alphabet notation, etymology traced through Germanic and Romance roots where applicable, common misspelling variants catalogued from Hunspell error dictionaries, and usage frequency ranked against the top 100,000 English words in the Wordfreq corpus. PlainSpell covers English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German spelling with confusable-pair detection that highlights visually and phonetically similar words. This entry for "bingo" includes synonyms, antonyms, homophones, and cross-language translation pointers sourced from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org extract. Whether you are verifying the correct spelling of "bingo" for academic writing, checking homophone confusion, or exploring etymological origins, this page provides a citation-backed, free reference that requires no sign-up.

bingo is aEnglishnoun. It means: A game of chance for two or more players, who mark off numbers on a grid as they are announced by the caller; the game is won by the first person to call out "bingo!" or "house!" after crossing off... Pronounced /ˈbɪŋ.ɡəʊ/. Often confused with bio and bong.

Key facts for bingo
PropertyValue
Headwordbingo
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈbɪŋ.ɡəʊ/
Letters5
Frequency rank#10,990
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency rank visualization

Position of bingo in English word frequency (lower rank = more common)

Source: Wordfreq corpus

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for bingo is 5 letters long, classified as anoun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈbɪŋ.ɡəʊ/. Corpus data places it at rank #10,990 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 Hunspell-derived misspelling index lists 7 documented wrong-spelling variants for bingo, with forms such as "bbingo", "bigno", and "binggo". Each variant represents a distinct typo pattern that appears often enough in corpora to be worth flagging, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution.It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "bio", "bong", "bins", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: Alternative form of bing, suggesting a ringing sound. Attested since 1925. Root origin matters for spelling because borrowed morphemes (Greek, Latin, Old French, Old English) carry their source-language orthographic conventions into modern English, which is why historical etymology is often the cleanest predictor of whether a cluster like "-ough", "-eau", or "-tion" will appear. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct English form is bingo, spelled B-I-N-G-O, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

Definition

  1. 1
    A game of chance for two or more players, who mark off numbers on a grid as they are announced by the caller; the game is won by the first person to call out "bingo!" or "house!" after crossing off all numbers on the grid or in one line of the grid.
  2. 2
    A similar game or amusement in which participants tick off themed words, phrases or pictures as these are called out, or as they are mentioned, for example during a speech or performance
  3. 3
    A win in such a game.
  4. 4
    A play where all seven of a player's letter tiles are played, awarding a score bonus.
  5. 5
    Great, sudden, typically hard-to-predict success; the jackpot.

Etymology

Alternative form of bing, suggesting a ringing sound. Attested since 1925.

Synonyms

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: bbingo,bigno,binggo,binngo,binog,bnigo,ibngo

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

Relative frequency of common misspelling types for bingo

Misspelling Variants of "bingo"

bbingo6bigno5binggo6binngo6binog5bnigo5ibngo5
Misspelling Variants of "bingo"

Frequency rank: #10,990 in English

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "bingo"?
"bingo" is spelled B-I-N-G-O. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈbɪŋ.ɡəʊ/.
What does "bingo" mean?
As a noun, "bingo" means: A game of chance for two or more players, who mark off numbers on a grid as they are announced by the caller; the game is won by the first person to call out "bingo!" or "house!" after crossing off...
What words are commonly confused with "bingo"?
"bingo" is commonly confused with "bio", "bong", "bins". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "bingo"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "bingo" is /ˈbɪŋ.ɡəʊ/. 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 "bingo"?
Alternative form of bing, suggesting a ringing sound. Attested since 1925. 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.

Nearby English words

Other entries that begin with the letter B in our English index:

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Data Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Frequency data from Wordfreq. Misspellings derived from Hunspell dictionaries.