blood

/blʌd/

//blʌd// noun

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

The verdict

“blood” is in the everyday core of English, ranked #823 in English word frequency and used as a noun.

#823
frequency rank, English
5
letters
7
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A vital liquid flowing in the bodies of many types of animals that usually conveys nutrients and oxygen. In vertebrates, it is colored red by hemoglobin, is conveyed by arteries and veins, is pumpe...

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

blood vs boo
60% similar
blood vs bod
60% similar
blood vs book
60% similar

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

Key facts for blood
PropertyValue
Headwordblood
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/blʌd/
Letters5
Frequency rank#823
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “blood” 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). blood 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 blood is 5 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /blʌd/. Corpus data places it at rank #823 in overall English word frequency, putting it firmly in the everyday core of the language. Wiktionary records 15 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 blood, with forms such as "bblood", "bllood", and "blod". 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, "boo", "bod", "book", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *bʰleh₃-? Proto-Germanic *blōþą Proto-West Germanic *blōd Old English blōd Middle English blood English blood From Middle English blood, from Old English blōd, from Proto-West Germanic *blōd, from Proto-Germanic *blōþą, po… The correct English form is blood, spelled B-L-O-O-D.

Definition

  1. 1
    A vital liquid flowing in the bodies of many types of animals that usually conveys nutrients and oxygen. In vertebrates, it is colored red by hemoglobin, is conveyed by arteries and veins, is pumped by the heart and is usually generated in bone marrow.
  2. 2
    A family relationship due to birth, such as that between siblings; contrasted with relationships due to marriage or adoption. See blood relative, blood relation.
  3. 3
    One of the four humours in the human body.
  4. 4
    The endometrial lining as it is shed in menstruation; menstrual fluid or period blood.
  5. 5
    A blood test or blood sample.
  6. 6
    The sap or juice which flows in or from plants.
  7. 7
    The juice of anything, especially if red.
  8. 8
    A temper of mind; a disposition; a mood.
  9. 9
    A lively, showy man; a rake; a dandy.
  10. 10
    A blood horse, one of good pedigree.
  11. 11
    Bloodshed.
  12. 12
    A friend or acquaintance, especially one who is black and male.
  13. 13
    Alternative letter-case form of Blood (“a member of a certain gang”).
  14. 14
    Alternative form of blud (“an informal address to a male.”).
  15. 15
    Lean, especially that is red.

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *bʰleh₃-? Proto-Germanic *blōþą Proto-West Germanic *blōd Old English blōd Middle English blood English blood From Middle English blood, from Old English blōd, from Proto-West Germanic *blōd, from Proto-Germanic *blōþą, possibly from Proto-Indo-European *bʰel- ("to swell") + -ó- (thematic vowel) + -to (nominalizer), i.e. "that which bursts out". Cognate with Scots blude, bluid (“blood”), North Frisian blud, blödj, Blör (“blood”), Saterland Frisian Bloud (“blood”), West Frisian bloed (“blood”), Cimbrian pluat, pluut (“blood”), Dutch bloed (“blood”), German Blut (“blood”), German Low German Blood, Bloot (“blood”), Luxembourgish Blutt (“blood”), Vilamovian błüt (“blood”), Yiddish בלוט (blut, “blood”), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk and Swedish blod (“blood”), Faroese and Icelandic blóð (“blood”), Crimean Gothic plut (“blood”), Gothic 𐌱𐌻𐍉𐌸 (blōþ, “blood”).

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: bblood,bllood,blod,blodo,bloodd,bolod,lbood

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

bblood1bllood1blod1blodo2bloodd1bolod2lbood2
Edit distance from "blood"

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 "blood"?
"blood" is spelled B-L-O-O-D. The IPA pronunciation is /blʌd/.
What does "blood" mean?
As a noun, "blood" means: A vital liquid flowing in the bodies of many types of animals that usually conveys nutrients and oxygen. In vertebrates, it is colored red by hemoglobin, is conveyed by arteries and veins, is pumpe...
What words are commonly confused with "blood"?
"blood" is commonly confused with "boo", "bod", "book". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "blood"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "blood" is /blʌd/. 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 "blood"?
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *bʰleh₃-? Proto-Germanic *blōþą Proto-West Germanic *blōd Old English blōd Middle English blood English blood From Middle English blood, from Old English blōd, from Proto-West Germanic *blōd, from Proto-Germanic ... 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 “blood”

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

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