book

/bʊk/

//bʊk// noun

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

The verdict

“book” is in the everyday core of English, ranked #353 in English word frequency and used as a noun.

#353
frequency rank, English
4
letters
3
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A collection of sheets of paper bound together to hinge at one edge, containing printed or written material, pictures, etc.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

book vs boy
50% similar
book vs box
50% similar
book vs bro
50% similar

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

Key facts for book
PropertyValue
Headwordbook
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/bʊk/
Letters4
Frequency rank#353
Misspellings tracked3
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “book” 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). book lands here:

#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 book is 4 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /bʊk/. Corpus data places it at rank #353 in overall English word frequency, putting it firmly in the everyday core of the language. Wiktionary records 21 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 3 likely wrong-spelling variants for book, with forms such as "bbook", "bookk", and "obok". 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", "bro", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂ǵosder.? Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂g-der.? Proto-Germanic *bōks Proto-West Germanic *bōk Old English bōc Middle English bok English book From Middle English bok, book, from Old English bōc, from Proto-West Germanic *… The correct English form is book, spelled B-O-O-K.

Definition

  1. 1
    A collection of sheets of paper bound together to hinge at one edge, containing printed or written material, pictures, etc.
  2. 2
    A long work fit for publication, typically prose, such as a novel or textbook, and typically published as such a bound collection of sheets, but now sometimes electronically as an e-book.
  3. 3
    A major division of a long work.
  4. 4
    A record of betting (from the use of a notebook to record what each person has bet).
  5. 5
    A bookmaker (a person who takes bets on sporting events and similar); bookie; turf accountant.
  6. 6
    A convenient collection, in a form resembling a book, of small paper items for individual use.
  7. 7
    The script of a musical or opera.
  8. 8
    Records of the accounts of a business.
  9. 9
    A book award, a recognition for receiving the highest grade in a class (traditionally an actual book, but recently more likely a letter or certificate acknowledging the achievement).
  10. 10
    Six tricks taken by one side.
  11. 11
    Four of a kind.
  12. 12
    A document, held by the referee, of the incidents that happened in a game.
  13. 13
    A list of all players who have been booked (received a warning) in a game.
  14. 14
    The list of mares that a stallion will breed in a given season.
  15. 15
    A list of the races that a jockey is scheduled to ride in.
  16. 16
    The twenty-sixth Lenormand card.
  17. 17
    Any source of instruction.
  18. 18
    The accumulated body of knowledge passed down among black pimps.
  19. 19
    A portfolio of one's previous work in the industry.
  20. 20
    The sum of chess knowledge in the opening or endgame.
  21. 21
    A package of silk.

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂ǵosder.? Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂g-der.? Proto-Germanic *bōks Proto-West Germanic *bōk Old English bōc Middle English bok English book From Middle English bok, book, from Old English bōc, from Proto-West Germanic *bōk, from Proto-Germanic *bōks. Bookmaker sense by clipping. Cognates Cognate with Scots beuk, buik, buke (“book”), Yola buke (“book”), North Frisian Bok, buk, bök (“book”), Saterland Frisian Bouk (“book”), West Frisian, Dutch boek (“book”), Alemannic German Buech (“book”), Bavarian Buach (“book”), Central Franconian Booch, Buch (“book”), German, Luxembourgish Buch (“book”), German Low German Book (“book”), Limburgish book, Bouk (“book”), Vilamovian büch (“book”), Yiddish בוך (bukh, “book”), Danish bog (“book”), Elfdalian buok (“book”), Faroese, Icelandic bók (“book”), Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk and Swedish bok (“book”).

Synonyms

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: bbook,bookk,obok

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of book - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

bbook1bookk1obok2
Edit distance from "book"

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 "book"?
"book" is spelled B-O-O-K. The IPA pronunciation is /bʊk/.
What does "book" mean?
As a noun, "book" means: A collection of sheets of paper bound together to hinge at one edge, containing printed or written material, pictures, etc.
What words are commonly confused with "book"?
"book" is commonly confused with "boy", "box", "bro". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "book"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "book" is /bʊk/. 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 "book"?
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂ǵosder.? Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂g-der.? Proto-Germanic *bōks Proto-West Germanic *bōk Old English bōc Middle English bok English book From Middle English bok, book, from Old English bōc, from Proto-West ... 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 “book”

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

  • The one correct English spelling is B-O-O-K - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /bʊk/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “boy” - see the side-by-side comparison. book vs boy
  • 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list