bivalve
/ˈbaɪvælv/
"bivalve" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“bivalve” is uncommon English (frequency #76,578 among 31,241 “B” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #76,578
- frequency rank, English
- 31,241
- “B” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Any mollusc belonging to the taxonomic class Bivalvia, characterized by a shell consisting of two hinged sections, such as a scallop, clam, mussel or oyster.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | bivalve |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈbaɪvælv/ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Frequency rank | #76,578 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “bivalve” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
bivalve is uncommon English at frequency #76,578 among 31,241 “B” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈbaɪvælv/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for bivalve, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.
Etymologically, the entry records: From bi- (“two”) + valve. The correct English form is bivalve, spelled B-I-V-A-L-V-E.
Definition
- 1Any mollusc belonging to the taxonomic class Bivalvia, characterized by a shell consisting of two hinged sections, such as a scallop, clam, mussel or oyster.
- 2A pericarp in which the seedcase opens or splits into two parts or valves.
Etymology
From bi- (“two”) + valve.
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); 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
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Using “bivalve”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is B-I-V-A-L-V-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈbaɪvælv/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Other uncommon English words near this rank
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.