bitumen
/ˈbɪt.jʊ.mɪn/
"bitumen" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“bitumen” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #35,634 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #35,634
- frequency rank, English
- 7
- letters
- 10
- tracked misspellings
- 1
- confusable pair
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A sticky, black, highly viscous liquid or semi-solid form of petroleum, burning with a bright flame. It occurs as an abundant natural product in many places, as on the shores of the Dead and Caspia...
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | bitumen |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈbɪt.jʊ.mɪn/ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Frequency rank | #35,634 |
| Misspellings tracked | 10 |
| Confusable pairs | 1 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “bitumen” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for bitumen is 7 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈbɪt.jʊ.mɪn/. Corpus data places it at rank #35,634 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 4 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for bitumen, with forms such as "bbitumen", "bitmuen", and "bittumen". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "bitten", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English bithumen, bitumen, from Latin bitūmen. Doublet of bitume. The correct English form is bitumen, spelled B-I-T-U-M-E-N.
Definition
- 1A sticky, black, highly viscous liquid or semi-solid form of petroleum, burning with a bright flame. It occurs as an abundant natural product in many places, as on the shores of the Dead and Caspian Seas. It is used in cements, in the construction of pavements, etc.; Mineral pitch.
- 2Any one of the natural hydrocarbons, including the hard, solid, brittle varieties called asphalt, the semisolid maltha and mineral tars, the oily petrolea, and even the light, volatile naphthas.
- 3Roads sealed with bitumen, as opposed to dirt roads.
- 4Canadian deposits of extremely heavy crude oil.
Etymology
From Middle English bithumen, bitumen, from Latin bitūmen. Doublet of bitume.
Synonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: bbitumen,bitmuen,bittumen,bituemn,bitumenn,bitummen,bitumne,biutmen,btiumen,ibtumen
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of bitumen - 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.
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 "bitumen"?
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Using “bitumen”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is B-I-T-U-M-E-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈbɪt.jʊ.mɪn/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “bitten” - see the side-by-side comparison. bitumen vs bitten
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
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.