birdlime
/ˈbɜːdlaɪm/
"birdlime" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“birdlime” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 8
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A sticky substance, of varying compositions, smeared on branches to catch birds.
Corpus desk
Index EN-birdlime · birdlime · English
birdlime · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-LONG 8 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 | birdlime |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈbɜːdlaɪm/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “birdlime” in English
Rare enough to double-check
birdlime is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈbɜːdlaɪm/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for birdlime, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.
Etymologically, the entry records: Partial calque of German Vogelleim. By surface analysis, bird + lime. The correct English form is birdlime, spelled B-I-R-D-L-I-M-E.
Definition
- 1A sticky substance, of varying compositions, smeared on branches to catch birds.
- 2Time; a jail term, the serving of a prison sentence.
Etymology
Partial calque of German Vogelleim. By surface analysis, bird + lime.
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.