blade

/bleɪd/

//bleɪd// noun

"blade" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“blade” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #5,191. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#5,191
frequency rank, English
4,121
“B” headwords
7
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The (typically sharp-edged) part of a knife, sword, razor, or other tool with which it cuts.

Corpus desk

Index EN-blade · blade · English

blade · rank #5,191 · 7 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #5,191
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 7 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,121
  • PHOTO-FINISH beside

Nearest frequency peer: beside (-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 “blade”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “blade” 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).

blade vs BLE
0% similar
blade vs blue
60% similar
blade vs brad
60% similar

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

Key facts for blade
PropertyValue
Headwordblade
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/bleɪd/
Letters5
Frequency rank#5,191
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “blade”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).bladelands 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 “beside” (#5,190), “boot” (#5,192), “beings” (#5,189). Among 4,121 “B” headwords, “blade” is #5,191. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 7 spelling variants around blade (IPA /bleɪd/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #5,191 among 4,121 “B” headwords. Wiktionary lists 26 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for blade, with forms such as "balde", "bblade", and "bladde". 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 20 confusable-pair relationships, "BLE", "blue", "brad", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English blade, blad, from Old English blæd (“leaf”), from Proto-West Germanic *blad, from Proto-Germanic *bladą, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰl̥h₃-o-to-m, from *bʰleh₃- (“to thrive, bloom”). See also West Frisian bled, Dutch blad, German Blatt, D… The correct English form is blade, spelled B-L-A-D-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    The (typically sharp-edged) part of a knife, sword, razor, or other tool with which it cuts.
  2. 2
    The (typically sharp-edged) part of a knife, sword, razor, or other tool with which it cuts.
  3. 3
    The (typically sharp-edged) part of a knife, sword, razor, or other tool with which it cuts.
  4. 4
    The flat functional end or piece of a propeller, oar, hockey stick, chisel, screwdriver, skate, etc.
  5. 5
    The narrow leaf of a grass or cereal.
  6. 6
    The thin, flat part of a plant leaf, attached to a stem (petiole).
  7. 7
    A flat bone, especially the shoulder blade.
  8. 8
    A cut of beef from near the shoulder blade (part of the chuck).
  9. 9
    The part of the tongue just behind the tip, used to make laminal consonants.
  10. 10
    A piece of prepared, sharp-edged stone, often flint, at least twice as long as it is wide; a long flake of ground-edge stone or knapped vitreous stone.
  11. 11
    A throw characterized by a tight parabolic trajectory due to a steep lateral attitude.
  12. 12
    The rudder, daggerboard, or centerboard of a vessel.
  13. 13
    A bulldozer or surface-grading machine with mechanically adjustable blade that is nominally perpendicular to the forward motion of the vehicle.
  14. 14
    A dashing young man.
  15. 15
    A homosexual, usually male.
  16. 16
    An area of a city which is commonly known for prostitution.
  17. 17
    Thin plate, foil.
  18. 18
    One of a series of small plates that make up the aperture or the shutter of a camera.
  19. 19
    The principal rafters of a roof.
  20. 20
    The four large shell plates on the sides, and the five large ones of the middle, of the carapace of the sea turtle, which yield the best tortoise shell.
  21. 21
    Ellipsis of blade server.
  22. 22
    Synonym of knifeblade.
  23. 23
    An exterior product of vectors. (The product may have more than two factors. Also, a scalar counts as a 0-blade, a vector as a 1-blade; an exterior product of k vectors may be called a k-blade.)
  24. 24
    The part of a key that is inserted into the lock.
  25. 25
    An artificial foot used by amputee athletes, shaped like an upside-down question mark.
  26. 26
    The quality of singing with a pure, resonant sound; especially of a countertenor.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Sword. — The blade is straight, tapers gradually, is 32 9/16 inches long from shoulder to point, and is fullered on both sides, commencing 2 inches from the shoulder, to about 17 inches from the point, to a thickness of ·035 inch.
  2. Paul: Give the Harkonnen a blade and let him stand forth. Shaddam IV: If Feyd wishes, he can meet you with my blade in his hand.

Etymology

From Middle English blade, blad, from Old English blæd (“leaf”), from Proto-West Germanic *blad, from Proto-Germanic *bladą, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰl̥h₃-o-to-m, from *bʰleh₃- (“to thrive, bloom”). See also West Frisian bled, Dutch blad, German Blatt, Danish blad, Irish bláth (“flower”), Welsh blodyn (“flower”), Tocharian A pält, Tocharian B pilta (“leaf”), Albanian fletë (“leaf”). Similar usage in German Sägeblatt (“saw blade”, literally “saw leaf”). Doublet of blat. More at blow.

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • balde
  • bblade
  • bladde
  • blaed
  • bldae
  • bllade
  • lbade

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of blade - 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.

balde2bblade1bladde1blaed2bldae2bllade1lbade2
Edit distance from "blade"

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 "blade"?
"blade" is spelled B-L-A-D-E. The IPA pronunciation is /bleɪd/.
What does "blade" mean?
As a noun, "blade" means: The (typically sharp-edged) part of a knife, sword, razor, or other tool with which it cuts.
What words are commonly confused with "blade"?
"blade" is commonly confused with "BLE", "blue", "brad". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "blade"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "blade" is /bleɪd/. 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 "blade"?
From Middle English blade, blad, from Old English blæd (“leaf”), from Proto-West Germanic *blad, from Proto-Germanic *bladą, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰl̥h₃-o-to-m, from *bʰleh₃- (“to thrive, bloom”). See also West Frisian bled, Dutch blad, Germa... 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 "blade", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (7 here; floor ≥5).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list