bladder
blad·der/ˈblædɚ/noun, verb
bladder is spelled B-L-A-D-D-E-R: 7 letters and 2 syllables (blad·der). It appears 4.2 times per million words in written English, the 12,578th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, bladder means “A flexible sac that can expand and contract and that holds liquids or gases” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of bladder is bladders.
How many letters and syllables are in bladder?
| Letters | 7: B-L-A-D-D-E-R |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: blad·der |
| In writing | 4.2 times per million words; the 12,578th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| 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 bladder?
Bladder appears 4.2 times per million words in written English, the 12,578th 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 bladder?
- UK /ˈblædə/
- US /ˈblædɚ/
Bladder has 2 syllables, split blad·der in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-bladder.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with bladder
Also written: blather.
Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with bladder?
3 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as bladder from its last stressed vowel (/ædəɹ/):
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 bladder
- bladders plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- blather
- blether
- bladdering participle, present
- bladdered participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does bladder mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A flexible sac that can expand and contract and that holds liquids or gases.
- 2
Specifically, the urinary bladder.
- 3
A hollow, inflatable organ of a plant.
- 4
The inflatable bag inside various balls used in sports, such as footballs and rugby balls.
- 5
A container in the form of a flexible bag.
a fuel bladder
- 6
A sealed plastic bag that contains wine and is usually packaged in a cask.
- 7
Anything inflated, empty, or unsound.
verb
- 1
To swell out like a bladder with air; to inflate.
- 2
To store or put up in bladders.
bladdered lard
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Bladder in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | vésicule , vessie , cubi |
| German | Blase |
| Portuguese | bexiga |
| Spanish | vejiga , cubi, barrica plástica, bota |
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 bladder come from?
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”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).