bonehead

Name: bonehead, English Word Data
Creator: Wiktionary
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

/ˈbəʊnˌhɛd/

//ˈbəʊnˌhɛd// noun

By PlainSpell Editorial Team · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) · analyzed May 6, 2026

The verdict

“bonehead” is an uncommon English word, ranked #68,052 in English word frequency and used as a noun.

#68,052
frequency rank, English: 8
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Someone who is thick-skulled, stupid, or stubborn.

Key facts for bonehead
Property	Value
Headword	bonehead
Language	English
Part of speech	Noun
IPA	/ˈbəʊnˌhɛd/
Letters	8
Frequency rank	#68,052
Misspellings tracked	0
Confusable pairs	0
Source	Wiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “bonehead” 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). bonehead lands here:

#68,052

#1#100#1K#10K#100K

← used constantlyrarely used →

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

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for bonehead is 8 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈbəʊnˌhɛd/. Corpus data places it at rank #68,052 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for bonehead, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: From bone + head. The correct English form is bonehead, spelled B-O-N-E-H-E-A-D.

Definition

1
Someone who is thick-skulled, stupid, or stubborn.
2
A member of a neo-Nazi, white supremacist, and antisemitic offshoot of the skinhead subculture.

Etymology

From bone + head.

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 "bonehead"?

"bonehead" is spelled B-O-N-E-H-E-A-D. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈbəʊnˌhɛd/.

What does "bonehead" mean?

As a noun, "bonehead" means: Someone who is thick-skulled, stupid, or stubborn.

How do you pronounce "bonehead"?

The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "bonehead" is /ˈbəʊnˌhɛd/. 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 "bonehead"?

From bone + head. 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.

Using “bonehead”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

The one correct English spelling is B-O-N-E-H-E-A-D - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
Say it as /ˈbəʊnˌhɛd/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
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.