bird

/bɜːd/

//bɜːd// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"bird" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“bird” has 6 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #2,329. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#2,329
frequency rank, English
4,121
“B” headwords
6
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - An animal of the clade (traditionally class) Aves in the phylum Chordata, characterized by being warm-blooded, having feathers and wings usually capable of flight, having a beaked mouth, and laying...

Corpus desk

Index EN-bird · bird · English

bird · rank #2,329 · 6 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #2,329
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 6 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,121
  • PHOTO-FINISH besides

Nearest frequency peer: besides (-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.

Frequency neighbourhood for “bird”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “bird” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

bird vs br
50% similar
bird vs bit
50% similar
bird vs bro
50% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for bird
PropertyValue
Headwordbird
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/bɜːd/
Letters4
Frequency rank#2,329
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “bird” 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).birdlands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “besides” (#2,328), “blame” (#2,330), “basically” (#2,327). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 6 spelling variants around bird (IPA /bɜːd/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #2,329 among 4,121 “B” headwords. Wiktionary lists 14 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for bird, with forms such as "bbird", "bidr", and "birdd". 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, "br", "bit", "bro", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English bird, brid, from Old English bridd (“chick, fledgling, chicken”), of uncertain origin (see Old English bridd for more). Originally from a term used of birds that could not fly (chicks, fledglings, chickens) as opposed to the general Old … The correct English form is bird, spelled B-I-R-D.

Definition

  1. 1
    An animal of the clade (traditionally class) Aves in the phylum Chordata, characterized by being warm-blooded, having feathers and wings usually capable of flight, having a beaked mouth, and laying eggs.
  2. 2
    A chicken; the young of a fowl; a young eaglet; a nestling.
  3. 3
    A chicken or turkey used as food.
  4. 4
    A man, fellow.
  5. 5
    A girl or woman, especially one considered sexually attractive.
  6. 6
    A girl or woman, especially one considered sexually attractive.
  7. 7
    An aircraft.
  8. 8
    A satellite.
  9. 9
    Booing and jeering, especially as done by an audience expressing displeasure at a performer.
  10. 10
    The vulgar hand gesture in which the middle finger is extended.
  11. 11
    A yardbird.
  12. 12
    A kilogram of cocaine.
  13. 13
    A penis.
  14. 14
    Snowbird (retiree who moves to a warmer climate).

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Ducks and sparrows are birds.
  2. The level below this is called the Phylum; birds belong to the Phylum Chordata, which includes all the vertebrate animals (the sub-phylum Vertebrata) and a few odds and ends.

Etymology

From Middle English bird, brid, from Old English bridd (“chick, fledgling, chicken”), of uncertain origin (see Old English bridd for more). Originally from a term used of birds that could not fly (chicks, fledglings, chickens) as opposed to the general Old English term for flying birds, fugol (modern fowl). Gradually replaced fowl as the most common term starting in the 14th century. The "booing/jeering" and "vulgar hand gesture" senses derived from the expression “to give the big bird”, as in “to hiss someone like a goose”, dated in the mid‐18th century.

Synonyms

avianbirdbirdiefeathered friendfowl

This word in other languages

pájaro(Español)oiseau(Français)Vogel(Deutsch)pássaro(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • bbird
  • bidr
  • birdd
  • birrd
  • brid
  • ibrd

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of bird - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

bbird1bidr2birdd1birrd1brid2ibrd2
Edit distance from "bird"

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 "bird"?
"bird" is spelled B-I-R-D. The IPA pronunciation is /bɜːd/.
What does "bird" mean?
As a noun, "bird" means: An animal of the clade (traditionally class) Aves in the phylum Chordata, characterized by being warm-blooded, having feathers and wings usually capable of flight, having a beaked mouth, and laying...
What words are commonly confused with "bird"?
"bird" is commonly confused with "br", "bit", "bro". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "bird"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "bird" is /bɜːd/. 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 "bird"?
From Middle English bird, brid, from Old English bridd (“chick, fledgling, chicken”), of uncertain origin (see Old English bridd for more). Originally from a term used of birds that could not fly (chicks, fledglings, chickens) as opposed to the ge... 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 "bird", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

bowl#2,332Tony#2,321pure#2,308meat#2,355

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (6 here; floor ≥5).

falls6 variantsfired6 variantsneck6 variantstask6 variants

What to do next

You've looked up "bird". Here's where to go from here.

  • "bird" maps to 20 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "br". View pair
  • 6 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
  • Usage frequency rank #2,329 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more English words in the "B" letter cohort. B–Z browse
  • PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

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.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list