bomb

/bɒm/

//bɒm// noun

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

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

The verdict

“bomb” has 6 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #2,475. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#2,475
frequency rank, English
4,121
“B” headwords
6
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 2, 2026) - An explosive device used or intended as a weapon, especially, one dropped from an aircraft.

Corpus desk

Index EN-bomb · bomb · English

bomb · rank #2,475 · 6 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #2,475
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 6 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,121
  • PHOTO-FINISH birds

Nearest frequency peer: birds (-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 “bomb”

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

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “bomb” 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 September 2, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

bomb vs boy
50% similar
bomb vs box
50% similar
bomb vs bow
50% similar

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

Key facts for bomb
PropertyValue
Headwordbomb
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/bɒm/
Letters4
Frequency rank#2,475
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “bomb” 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). bomb lands here:

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

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

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 6 spelling variants around bomb (IPA /bɒm/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #2,475 among 4,121 “B” headwords. Wiktionary lists 29 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for bomb, with forms such as "bbomb", "bmob", and "bobm". 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, "boy", "box", "bow", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From French bombe, from Italian bomba, from Latin bombus (“a booming sound”), from Ancient Greek βόμβος (bómbos, “booming, humming, buzzing”), imitative of the sound itself. Doublet of bombe. Compare boom. The correct English form is bomb, spelled B-O-M-B.

Definition

  1. 1
    An explosive device used or intended as a weapon, especially, one dropped from an aircraft.
  2. 2
    An explosive device used or intended as a weapon, especially, one dropped from an aircraft.
  3. 3
    An explosive device used or intended as a weapon, especially, one dropped from an aircraft.
  4. 4
    An explosive device used or intended as a weapon, especially, one dropped from an aircraft.
  5. 5
    An explosive device used or intended as a weapon, especially, one dropped from an aircraft.
  6. 6
    An explosive device used or intended as a weapon, especially, one dropped from an aircraft.
  7. 7
    Any explosive charge.
  8. 8
    A bag or balloon containing a substance such as water, flour, or paint, designed to burst and splatter.
  9. 9
    Anything that is at risk of exploding (literally) or that has exploded.
  10. 10
    A fart.
  11. 11
    A failure; an unpopular commercial product.
  12. 12
    A car in poor condition.
  13. 13
    A large amount of money.
  14. 14
    Something highly effective or attractive.
  15. 15
    Something highly effective or attractive.
  16. 16
    Something highly effective or attractive.
  17. 17
    Something highly effective or attractive.
  18. 18
    Something highly effective or attractive.
  19. 19
    Something highly effective or attractive.
  20. 20
    Something highly effective or attractive.
  21. 21
    Something highly effective or attractive.
  22. 22
    Something highly effective or attractive.
  23. 23
    A cyclone whose central pressure drops at an average rate of at least one millibar per hour for at least 24 hours.
  24. 24
    A heavy-walled container designed to permit chemical reactions under high pressure.
  25. 25
    A great booming noise; a hollow sound.
  26. 26
    A woman’s breast.
  27. 27
    A professional wrestling throw in which an opponent is lifted and then slammed back-first down to the mat.
  28. 28
    A recreational drug ground up, wrapped, and swallowed.
  29. 29
    An act of jumping into water while keeping one's arms and legs tucked into the body, as in a squatting position, to maximize splashing.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how bomb appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. The size of the ground hole crater from the blast indicates it was a bomb.
  2. During the Cold War, everyone worried about the bomb sometimes.

Etymology

From French bombe, from Italian bomba, from Latin bombus (“a booming sound”), from Ancient Greek βόμβος (bómbos, “booming, humming, buzzing”), imitative of the sound itself. Doublet of bombe. Compare boom.

This word in other languages

bomba(Español)bombe(Français)Bombe(Deutsch)bomba(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • bbomb
  • bmob
  • bobm
  • bombb
  • bommb
  • obmb

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

bbomb1bmob2bobm2bombb1bommb1obmb2
Edit distance from "bomb"

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 September 2, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "bomb"?
"bomb" is spelled B-O-M-B. The IPA pronunciation is /bɒm/.
What does "bomb" mean?
As a noun, "bomb" means: An explosive device used or intended as a weapon, especially, one dropped from an aircraft.
What words are commonly confused with "bomb"?
"bomb" is commonly confused with "boy", "box", "bow". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "bomb"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "bomb" is /bɒm/. 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 "bomb"?
From French bombe, from Italian bomba, from Latin bombus (“a booming sound”), from Ancient Greek βόμβος (bómbos, “booming, humming, buzzing”), imitative of the sound itself. Doublet of bombe. Compare boom. 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 "bomb", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

wing#2,471solo#2,464hang#2,487seek#2,462

Similar misspelling depth

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

goods6 variantssalt6 variantsaside6 variantsbond6 variants
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