blend

/blɛnd/

//blɛnd// noun

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

The verdict

“blend” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #7,653 in English word frequency and used as a noun.

#7,653
frequency rank, English
5
letters
8
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A mixture of two or more things.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

blend vs bond
60% similar
blend vs blew
60% similar
blend vs bred
60% similar

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

Key facts for blend
PropertyValue
Headwordblend
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/blɛnd/
Letters5
Frequency rank#7,653
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “blend” 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). blend 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 blend is 5 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /blɛnd/. Corpus data places it at rank #7,653 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for blend, with forms such as "bblend", "belnd", and "bledn". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "bond", "blew", "bred", 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 blenden, either from Old English blandan, blondan, ġeblandan, ġeblendan or from Old Norse blanda (“to blend, mix”) (which was originally a strong verb with the present-tense stem blend; compare blendingr (“a blending, a mixture; a half-b… The correct English form is blend, spelled B-L-E-N-D.

Definition

  1. 1
    A mixture of two or more things.
  2. 2
    A word formed by combining two other words; a portmanteau word.

Etymology

From Middle English blenden, either from Old English blandan, blondan, ġeblandan, ġeblendan or from Old Norse blanda (“to blend, mix”) (which was originally a strong verb with the present-tense stem blend; compare blendingr (“a blending, a mixture; a half-breed”)), whence also Danish blande, or from a blend of the Old English and Old Norse terms; both ultimately from Proto-Germanic *blandaną (“to blend; mix; combine”). Compare Middle Dutch blanden (“to mix”), Gothic 𐌱𐌻𐌰𐌽𐌳𐌰𐌽 (blandan), Old Church Slavonic блєсти (blesti, “to go astray”).

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: bblend,belnd,bledn,blendd,blennd,bllend,blned,lbend

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of blend - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

bblend1belnd2bledn2blendd1blennd1bllend1blned2lbend2
Edit distance from "blend"

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 "blend"?
"blend" is spelled B-L-E-N-D. The IPA pronunciation is /blɛnd/.
What does "blend" mean?
As a noun, "blend" means: A mixture of two or more things.
What words are commonly confused with "blend"?
"blend" is commonly confused with "bond", "blew", "bred". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "blend"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "blend" is /blɛnd/. 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 "blend"?
From Middle English blenden, either from Old English blandan, blondan, ġeblandan, ġeblendan or from Old Norse blanda (“to blend, mix”) (which was originally a strong verb with the present-tense stem blend; compare blendingr (“a blending, a mixture... 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 “blend”

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

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