bool

noun

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

The verdict

“bool” is uncommon English (frequency #56,624 among 4,121 “B” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#56,624
frequency rank, English
4,121
“B” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A Boolean variable (one whose value is either true or false).

Corpus desk

Index EN-bool · bool · English

bool · rank #56,624 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #56,624
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,121
  • PHOTO-FINISH Borisov

Nearest frequency peer: Borisov (+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 “bool”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “bool” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for bool
PropertyValue
Headwordbool
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters4
Frequency rank#56,624
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “bool” in English

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).boolfalls in this rarity band:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “Borisov” (#56,625), “blotter” (#56,621), “Brabant” (#56,627). Among 4,121 “B” headwords, “bool” is #56,624. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

bool is uncommon English at frequency #56,624 among 4,121 “B” headwords, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A Boolean variable (one whose value is either true or false).".

bool has no tracked misspelling variants, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From a keyword in C++ and derived programming languages, short for Boolean. The correct English form is bool, spelled B-O-O-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    A Boolean variable (one whose value is either true or false).

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. The base class BitArray acts just like a normal C++ array of bools, although you are of course free to interpret the bits as integers […]
  2. With an automatic conversion, bools will interfere with overload resolution […]

Etymology

From a keyword in C++ and derived programming languages, short for Boolean.

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 "bool"?
"bool" is spelled B-O-O-L.
What does "bool" mean?
As a noun, "bool" means: A Boolean variable (one whose value is either true or false).
What is the origin of the word "bool"?
From a keyword in C++ and derived programming languages, short for Boolean. 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 "bool", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list