boma
"boma" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“boma” is uncommon English (frequency #79,320 among 4,121 “B” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #79,320
- frequency rank, English
- 4,121
- “B” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - An enclosure usually made of thorn bushes, and latterly of steel fencing, for protection from marauders.
Corpus desk
Index EN-boma · boma · English
boma · rank #79,320 · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-RARE #79,320
- LEN-MID 4 letters
- VOW-2 2 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-MID 4,121
- PHOTO-FINISH Bolles
Nearest frequency peer: Bolles (-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.
Long-tail ranks near “boma”
Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter
- blued
blued
20,685 corpus weight
- Bocelli
Bocelli
20,683 corpus weight
- Bolles
Bolles
20,682 corpus weight
- boma
boma
20,681 corpus weight
- bonbon
bonbon
20,680 corpus weight
- bootlegger
bootlegger
20,678 corpus weight
What this shows Long-tail view: where “boma” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | boma |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| Letters | 4 |
| Frequency rank | #79,320 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “boma” in English
Rare enough to double-check
boma is uncommon English at frequency #79,320 among 4,121 “B” headwords, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 7 senses are on record.
No misspelling variants are generated for boma in our index, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.
Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Swahili boma (“enclosure, fortified outpost”). The correct English form is boma, spelled B-O-M-A.
Definition
- 1An enclosure usually made of thorn bushes, and latterly of steel fencing, for protection from marauders.
- 2A stockade made of bushes and thorns.
- 3A hide.
- 4A hut.
- 5A military or police post or magistracy.
- 6A type of fertilizer rich in animal dung.
- 7A method of composting in which animals are bedded on the material before it is used, allowing it to gather urine and dung.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how boma appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
It was after midnight when Tarzan, with his slow-moving caravan, approached the spot where the elephants lay. Long before they reached it they had been guided by the huge fire the natives had built in the center of a hastily improvised boma, partially for warmth and partially to keep off chance lions.
Orders had been given for the entrance to the boma to be blocked up, and accordingly we listened in the expectation of hearing the lion force his way through the bushes with his prey. As a matter of fact the doorway had not been closed and while we were wondering what the lion could be doing inside the boma for so long, he was outside reconnoitering our p…
Etymology
Borrowed from Swahili boma (“enclosure, fortified outpost”).
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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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "boma", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).