birdbrain
/ˈbɜː(ɹ)d.bɹeɪn/
"birdbrain" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“birdbrain” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 9
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Someone who is not intelligent.
Corpus desk
Index EN-birdbrain · birdbrain · English
birdbrain · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-LONG 9 letters
- VOW-3 3 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "B" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
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.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | birdbrain |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈbɜː(ɹ)d.bɹeɪn/ |
| Letters | 9 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “birdbrain” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
birdbrain is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈbɜː(ɹ)d.bɹeɪn/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Someone who is not intelligent.".
birdbrain doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
Etymologically, the entry records: From bird + brain, implying that birds, having small brains, are unintelligent (although this is untrue for many birds). The correct English form is birdbrain, spelled B-I-R-D-B-R-A-I-N.
Definition
- 1Someone who is not intelligent.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how birdbrain appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
That birdbrain just drove right through three rows of traffic cones and into the bushes.
Comedienne Carol Channing, 29, admitted that a grave personal problem had grown out of her playing the role of birdbrained Lorelei Lee in Broadway’s Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. People seemed to be convinced that she is a birdbrain offstage, too: “I won't say that people actually think I’m just two steps removed from outright idiocy, but they do seem to have…
Etymology
From bird + brain, implying that birds, having small brains, are unintelligent (although this is untrue for many birds).
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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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.