blade

/bleɪd/

//bleɪd// noun

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

The verdict

“blade” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #5,191 in English word frequency and used as a noun.

#5,191
frequency rank, English
5
letters
7
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The (typically sharp-edged) part of a knife, sword, razor, or other tool with which it cuts.

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)

Where “blade” sits in English frequency

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

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for blade is 5 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /bleɪd/. Corpus data places it at rank #5,191 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 26 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

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.

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.

Using “blade”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is B-L-A-D-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /bleɪd/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “BLE” - see the side-by-side comparison. blade vs BLE
  • 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list