bob
/bɒb/
"bob" is a 3-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“bob” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #2,331 in English word frequency and used as a verb.
- #2,331
- frequency rank, English
- 3
- letters
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - To move gently and vertically, in either a single motion or repeatedly up and down, at or near the surface of a body of water, or similar medium.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | bob |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /bɒb/ |
| Letters | 3 |
| Frequency rank | #2,331 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “bob” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for bob is 3 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /bɒb/. Corpus data places it at rank #2,331 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 6 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
No generated misspelling entries exist for bob in our index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "by", "BS", "br", 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 bobben (“to strike, beat, shake, jog”), of uncertain origin. Compare Scots bob (“to mark, dance with a bobbing motion”), Icelandic boppa (“to wave up and down”), Swedish bobba (“to bob”), Dutch dobberen ("bobbing"). The correct English form is bob, spelled B-O-B.
Definition
- 1To move gently and vertically, in either a single motion or repeatedly up and down, at or near the surface of a body of water, or similar medium.
- 2To move (something) as though it were bobbing in water.
- 3To move (something) as though it were bobbing in water.
- 4To curtsy.
- 5To strike with a quick, light blow; to tap.
- 6Synonym of blob (“catch eels using worms strung on thread”).
Etymology
From Middle English bobben (“to strike, beat, shake, jog”), of uncertain origin. Compare Scots bob (“to mark, dance with a bobbing motion”), Icelandic boppa (“to wave up and down”), Swedish bobba (“to bob”), Dutch dobberen ("bobbing").
This word in other languages
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
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Using “bob”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is B-O-B - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /bɒb/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “by” - see the side-by-side comparison. bob vs by
- 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.