bondage

/ˈbɒn.dɪd͡ʒ/

//ˈbɒn.dɪd͡ʒ// noun

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

"bondage" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“bondage” has 10 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #15,759. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#15,759
frequency rank, English
4,121
“B” headwords
10
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The state of being enslaved or the practice of slavery.

Corpus desk

Index EN-bondage · bondage · English

bondage · rank #15,759 · 10 variants · 1 confusable

  • FREQ-MID #15,759
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
  • VAR-MID 10 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,121
  • PHOTO-FINISH Billie

Nearest frequency peer: Billie (-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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “bondage”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “bondage” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

bondage vs bandage
86% similar

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

Key facts for bondage
PropertyValue
Headwordbondage
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈbɒn.dɪd͡ʒ/
Letters7
Frequency rank#15,759
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “bondage”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).bondagelands here:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “Billie” (#15,758), “boredom” (#15,760), “Belarus” (#15,757). Among 4,121 “B” headwords, “bondage” is #15,759. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 10 spelling variants around bondage (IPA /ˈbɒn.dɪd͡ʒ/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #15,759 among 4,121 “B” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for bondage, with forms such as "bbondage", "bnodage", and "bodnage". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "bandage", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: Inherited from Middle English bondage (“serfdom”), from British Medieval Latin bondagium (“an inferior tenure held by a bond or husbandman”), from Middle English bond (“tenant farmer, serf”), from Old English bonda (“householder, husband, head of a family”)… The correct English form is bondage, spelled B-O-N-D-A-G-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    The state of being enslaved or the practice of slavery.
  2. 2
    The state of lacking freedom; constraint.
  3. 3
    The practice of physically restraining people for sexual pleasure, such as by tying up or shackling.
  4. 4
    Applied to clothing with many buckles, zips, etc., associated with punk and goth subcultures.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. debt bondage
  2. In Judeo-Christian tradition, the Israelites fled bondage at the hands of the Egyptians, only to wander in the wilderness for the next four decades.

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English bondage (“serfdom”), from British Medieval Latin bondagium (“an inferior tenure held by a bond or husbandman”), from Middle English bond (“tenant farmer, serf”), from Old English bonda (“householder, husband, head of a family”), of Old Norse origin. Sense development influenced by the unrelated terms bond and bind.

This word in other languages

sujeción(Español)esclavage(Français)Sklaverei(Deutsch)escravidão(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • bbondage
  • bnodage
  • bodnage
  • bonadge
  • bondaeg
  • bondagge
  • bonddage
  • bondgae
  • bonndage
  • obndage

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of bondage - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

bbondage1bnodage2bodnage2bonadge2bondaeg2bondagge1bonddage1bondgae2
Edit distance from "bondage"

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 "bondage"?
"bondage" is spelled B-O-N-D-A-G-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈbɒn.dɪd͡ʒ/.
What does "bondage" mean?
As a noun, "bondage" means: The state of being enslaved or the practice of slavery.
What words are commonly confused with "bondage"?
"bondage" is commonly confused with "bandage". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "bondage"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "bondage" is /ˈbɒn.dɪd͡ʒ/. 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 "bondage"?
Inherited from Middle English bondage (“serfdom”), from British Medieval Latin bondagium (“an inferior tenure held by a bond or husbandman”), from Middle English bond (“tenant farmer, serf”), from Old English bonda (“householder, husband, head of ... 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 "bondage", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

boredom#15,760Belarus#15,757bounced#15,761Buckley#15,766

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (10 here; floor ≥5).

brunch10 variantsappalling10 variantsapostle10 variantsafforded10 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list