bladder

/ˈblædə/

//ˈblædə// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"bladder" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“bladder” has 9 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #12,551. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#12,551
frequency rank, English
4,121
“B” headwords
9
tracked misspellings
12
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A flexible sac that can expand and contract and that holds liquids or gases.

Corpus desk

Index EN-bladder · bladder · English

bladder · rank #12,551 · 9 variants · 12 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #12,551
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 12 pairs
  • VAR-MID 9 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,121
  • PHOTO-FINISH bipolar

Nearest frequency peer: bipolar (-1 rank slots)

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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “bladder”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “bladder” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

bladder vs blade
71% similar
bladder vs blades
71% similar
bladder vs blazer
71% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for bladder
PropertyValue
Headwordbladder
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈblædə/
Letters7
Frequency rank#12,551
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs12
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “bladder”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).bladderlands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “bipolar” (#12,550), “blossom” (#12,552), “beforehand” (#12,549). Among 4,121 “B” headwords, “bladder” is #12,551. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 9 spelling variants around bladder (IPA /ˈblædə/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #12,551 among 4,121 “B” headwords. Wiktionary lists 7 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for bladder, with forms such as "baldder", "bbladder", and "bladderr". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 12 confusable-pair relationships, "blade", "blades", "blazer", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English bladdre, bleddre, bladder, bledder, from Old English blæddre, a variant of blǣdre, blēdre (“blister, bladder”), from Proto-West Germanic *blādrā, from Proto-Germanic *blēdrǭ, *bladrǭ (“blister, bladder”). The correct English form is bladder, spelled B-L-A-D-D-E-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    A flexible sac that can expand and contract and that holds liquids or gases.
  2. 2
    Specifically, the urinary bladder.
  3. 3
    A hollow, inflatable organ of a plant.
  4. 4
    The inflatable bag inside various balls used in sports, such as footballs and rugby balls.
  5. 5
    A container in the form of a flexible bag.
  6. 6
    A container in the form of a flexible bag.
  7. 7
    Anything inflated, empty, or unsound.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how bladder appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. a fuel bladder
  2. to swim with bladders of philosophy

Etymology

From Middle English bladdre, bleddre, bladder, bledder, from Old English blæddre, a variant of blǣdre, blēdre (“blister, bladder”), from Proto-West Germanic *blādrā, from Proto-Germanic *blēdrǭ, *bladrǭ (“blister, bladder”).

This word in other languages

vejiga(Español)vésicule(Français)Blase(Deutsch)bexiga(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • baldder
  • bbladder
  • bladderr
  • bladdre
  • bladedr
  • blader
  • bldader
  • blladder
  • lbadder

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of bladder - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

baldder2bbladder1bladderr1bladdre2bladedr2blader1bldader2blladder1
Edit distance from "bladder"

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 "bladder"?
"bladder" is spelled B-L-A-D-D-E-R. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈblædə/.
What does "bladder" mean?
As a noun, "bladder" means: A flexible sac that can expand and contract and that holds liquids or gases.
What words are commonly confused with "bladder"?
"bladder" is commonly confused with "blade", "blades", "blazer". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "bladder"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "bladder" is /ˈblædə/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "bladder"?
From Middle English bladdre, bleddre, bladder, bledder, from Old English blæddre, a variant of blǣdre, blēdre (“blister, bladder”), from Proto-West Germanic *blādrā, from Proto-Germanic *blēdrǭ, *bladrǭ (“blister, bladder”). See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "bladder", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

bipolar#12,550blossom#12,552atheist#12,545armored#12,543

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (9 here; floor ≥5).

bombed9 variantsaquatic9 variantsAlgeria9 variantsyogurt9 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list