bittern
bit·tern/ˈbɪtəɹn/noun
bittern is spelled B-I-T-T-E-R-N: 7 letters and 2 syllables (bit·tern). It appears about once in every 8 million words in written English, the 85,266th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, bittern means “Several bird species in the Botaurinae subfamily of the heron family Ardeidae” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of bittern is bitterns.
How many letters and syllables are in bittern?
| Letters | 7: B-I-T-T-E-R-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: bit·tern |
| In writing | about once in every 8 million words; the 85,266th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Sounds like | |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is bittern?
Bittern appears about once in every 8 million words in written English, the 85,266th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce bittern?
- UK /ˈbɪtən/
- US /ˈbɪtəɹn/
Bittern has 2 syllables, split bit·tern in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-bittern.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with bittern
Sounds like: bitten (Wiktionary's homophone list; some hold only in some accents).
Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with bittern?
One word on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as bittern from its last stressed vowel (/ɪtəɹn/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of bittern
- bitterns plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does bittern mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Several bird species in the Botaurinae subfamily of the heron family Ardeidae.
- 2
The liquor remaining after halite (common salt) has been harvested from saline water (brine).
- 3
The saline substance added to soy milk to coagulate it as a primary step in the production of tofu.
- 4
archaicA very bitter compound of quassia, cocculus indicus, etc., used by fraudulent brewers in adulterating beer.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Bittern in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense bird of the subfamily Botaurinae:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | butor, blongios |
| German | Dommel, Rohrdommel |
| Portuguese | abetouro |
| Spanish | avetoro, avetorillo |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does bittern come from?
From Middle English bitour, botor, from Old French butor, from Gallo-Roman *butitaurus, a blend of Latin būtiō (“bittern”) and taurus (“bull, ox”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).