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” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #5,394 in English word frequency and used as a verb.

#5,394
frequency rank, English
5
letters
6
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - To make something holy by religious rite, sanctify.

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)

Where “bless” 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). bless 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 bless is 5 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /blɛs/. Corpus data places it at rank #5,394 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 11 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

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)

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.

Using “bless”

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

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