boldface

noun

"boldface" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“boldface” is uncommon English (frequency #70,507 among 31,241 “B” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#70,507
frequency rank, English
31,241
“B” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A font that is dark, having a high ratio of ink to white space, written or drawn with thick strong lines.

Corpus desk

Index EN-boldface · boldface · English

boldface · rank #70,507 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #70,507
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 31,241
  • PHOTO-FINISH Bloomingdale

Nearest frequency peer: Bloomingdale (-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.

Frequency neighbourhood for “boldface”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “boldface” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of May 6, 2026
Key facts for boldface
PropertyValue
Headwordboldface
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters8
Frequency rank#70,507
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “boldface” 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). boldface lands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

boldface is uncommon English at frequency #70,507 among 31,241 “B” headwords, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A font that is dark, having a high ratio of ink to white space, written or drawn with thick strong lines.".

boldface has no tracked misspelling variants, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

Etymologically, the entry records: From bold + face. The correct English form is boldface, spelled B-O-L-D-F-A-C-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A font that is dark, having a high ratio of ink to white space, written or drawn with thick strong lines.

Etymology

From bold + face.

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.

PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of May 6, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "boldface"?
"boldface" is spelled B-O-L-D-F-A-C-E.
What does "boldface" mean?
As a noun, "boldface" means: A font that is dark, having a high ratio of ink to white space, written or drawn with thick strong lines.
What is the origin of the word "boldface"?
From bold + face. 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 "boldface", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

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