bless

/blɛs/

//blɛs// verb

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

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

The verdict

“bless” has 6 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #5,394. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#5,394
frequency rank, English
4,121
“B” headwords
6
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To make something holy by religious rite, sanctify.

Corpus desk

Index EN-bless · bless · English

bless · rank #5,394 · 6 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #5,394
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 6 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,121
  • PHOTO-FINISH beloved

Nearest frequency peer: beloved (-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 “bless”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “bless” 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).

bless vs BLS
0% similar
bless vs boss
60% similar
bless vs blew
60% similar

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

Key facts for bless
PropertyValue
Headwordbless
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/blɛs/
Letters5
Frequency rank#5,394
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “bless”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).blesslands here:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “beloved” (#5,393), “boxing” (#5,395), “beds” (#5,392). Among 4,121 “B” headwords, “bless” is #5,394. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 6 spelling variants around bless (IPA /blɛs/), averb. Corpus frequency is #5,394 among 4,121 “B” headwords. Wiktionary lists 11 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for bless, with forms such as "bbless", "belss", and "bles". 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, "BLS", "boss", "blew", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English blessen, from Old English bletsian (“to consecrate (with blood)”), from Proto-West Germanic *blōdisōn (“to sprinkle, mark or hallow with blood”), from Proto-Germanic *blōþą (“blood”), of uncertain origin, possibly from Proto-Indo-Europea… The correct English form is bless, spelled B-L-E-S-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    To make something holy by religious rite, sanctify.
  2. 2
    To invoke divine favor upon.
  3. 3
    To honor as holy, glorify; to extol for excellence.
  4. 4
    To esteem or account happy; to felicitate.
  5. 5
    To make the sign of the cross upon, so as to sanctify.
  6. 6
    To wave; to brandish.
  7. 7
    To turn (a reference) into an object.
  8. 8
    To secure, defend, or prevent from.
  9. 9
    To give or send.
  10. 10
    To approve of or assent to.
  11. 11
    To perform the mano gesture; taking of an elder's hand to press it to one's forehead or kiss it (as a sign of respect)

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. In some countries, priests bless farm animals on St. Anthony's Day.
  2. In many families, a grace is said before dinner to give thanks for and bless the food.

Etymology

From Middle English blessen, from Old English bletsian (“to consecrate (with blood)”), from Proto-West Germanic *blōdisōn (“to sprinkle, mark or hallow with blood”), from Proto-Germanic *blōþą (“blood”), of uncertain origin, possibly from Proto-Indo-European *bʰleh₃- (“to bloom”). Cognate with Old Norse bleza (“to bless”) (whence Icelandic blessa), Old English blēdan (“to bleed”). More at bleed.

Antonyms

cursecondemnunbless

This word in other languages

bendecir(Español)bénir(Français)segnen(Deutsch)abençoar(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • bbless
  • belss
  • bles
  • blless
  • blses
  • lbess

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of bless - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

bbless1belss2bles1blless1blses2lbess2
Edit distance from "bless"

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 "bless"?
"bless" is spelled B-L-E-S-S. The IPA pronunciation is /blɛs/.
What does "bless" mean?
As a verb, "bless" means: To make something holy by religious rite, sanctify.
What words are commonly confused with "bless"?
"bless" is commonly confused with "BLS", "boss", "blew". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "bless"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "bless" is /blɛs/. 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 "bless"?
From Middle English blessen, from Old English bletsian (“to consecrate (with blood)”), from Proto-West Germanic *blōdisōn (“to sprinkle, mark or hallow with blood”), from Proto-Germanic *blōþą (“blood”), of uncertain origin, possibly from Proto-In... 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 "bless", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

chuck#5,399acres#5,382couch#5,407crush#5,409

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (6 here; floor ≥5).

beds6 variantssuite6 variantsfires6 variantssits6 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list