blew

/bl(j)uː/

//bl(j)uː// verb

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

"blew" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“blew” has 6 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #5,859. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#5,859
frequency rank, English
4,121
“B” headwords
6
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - simple past of blow

Corpus desk

Index EN-blew · blew · English

blew · rank #5,859 · 6 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #5,859
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 6 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,121
  • PHOTO-FINISH Beijing

Nearest frequency peer: Beijing (-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 “blew”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “blew” 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).

blew vs BW
0% similar
blew vs bye
50% similar
blew vs bow
50% similar

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

Key facts for blew
PropertyValue
Headwordblew
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/bl(j)uː/
Letters4
Frequency rank#5,859
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “blew”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).blewlands 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 “Beijing” (#5,858), “blocking” (#5,860), “banner” (#5,857). Among 4,121 “B” headwords, “blew” is #5,859. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 6 spelling variants around blew (IPA /bl(j)uː/), averb. Corpus frequency is #5,859 among 4,121 “B” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for blew, with forms such as "bblew", "belw", and "bleww". 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, "BW", "bye", "bow", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English blew, from Old English blēow, from Proto-West Germanic *blē. The correct English form is blew, spelled B-L-E-W.

Definition

  1. 1
    simple past of blow
  2. 2
    past participle of blow

Etymology

From Middle English blew, from Old English blēow, from Proto-West Germanic *blē.

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • bblew
  • belw
  • bleww
  • bllew
  • blwe
  • lbew

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

bblew1belw2bleww1bllew1blwe2lbew2
Edit distance from "blew"

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 "blew"?
"blew" is spelled B-L-E-W. The IPA pronunciation is /bl(j)uː/.
What does "blew" mean?
As a verb, "blew" means: simple past of blow
What words are commonly confused with "blew"?
"blew" is commonly confused with "BW", "bye", "bow". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "blew"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "blew" is /bl(j)uː/. 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 "blew"?
From Middle English blew, from Old English blēow, from Proto-West Germanic *blē. 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 "blew", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

brad#5,861visa#5,849deer#5,872dive#5,875

Similar misspelling depth

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

delta6 variantsJulia6 variantseaten6 variantseagle6 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list