borderline

/ˈboɹ.dɚˌlaɪn/

//ˈboɹ.dɚˌlaɪn// adj

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

"borderline" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“borderline” has 15 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #18,506. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#18,506
frequency rank, English
4,121
“B” headwords
15
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Nearly; not clearly on one side or the other of a border or boundary, ambiguous.

Corpus desk

Index EN-borderline · borderline · English

borderline · rank #18,506 · 15 variants · 1 confusable

  • FREQ-MID #18,506
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 15 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,121
  • PHOTO-FINISH bombardment

Nearest frequency peer: bombardment (-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 “borderline”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “borderline” 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).

borderline vs bordering
80% similar

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

Key facts for borderline
PropertyValue
Headwordborderline
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈboɹ.dɚˌlaɪn/
Letters10
Frequency rank#18,506
Misspellings tracked15
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “borderline”

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).borderlinelands here:

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “bombardment” (#18,505), “boxed” (#18,507), “BOM” (#18,504). Among 4,121 “B” headwords, “borderline” is #18,506. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 15 spelling variants around borderline (IPA /ˈboɹ.dɚˌlaɪn/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #18,506 among 4,121 “B” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 15 likely wrong-spelling variants for borderline, with forms such as "bborderline", "bodrerline", and "bordderline". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "bordering", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From border + line. The correct English form is borderline, spelled B-O-R-D-E-R-L-I-N-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Nearly; not clearly on one side or the other of a border or boundary, ambiguous.
  2. 2
    Of questionable taste or acceptability; approaching bad taste.
  3. 3
    Exhibiting borderline personality disorder.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. I would rather hire a talented layman than a university graduate with borderline qualifications.
  2. It recalls the business case for Scotland's reopening of the Borders Railway to Tweedbank, that British Rail closed in 1969. The review says the business case for this was at best borderline, but goes on to say that the case greatly underestimated passenger demand and that the railway Scotland built has capped its capacity.

Etymology

From border + line.

This word in other languages

à la limite(Français)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • bborderline
  • bodrerline
  • bordderline
  • bordelrine
  • borderilne
  • borderlien
  • borderlinne
  • borderlline
  • borderlnie
  • borderrline
  • bordreline
  • boredrline
  • borrderline
  • broderline
  • obrderline

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of borderline - 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.

bborderline1bodrerline2bordderline1bordelrine2borderilne2borderlien2borderlinne1borderlline1
Edit distance from "borderline"

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 "borderline"?
"borderline" is spelled B-O-R-D-E-R-L-I-N-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈboɹ.dɚˌlaɪn/.
What does "borderline" mean?
As an adjective, "borderline" means: Nearly; not clearly on one side or the other of a border or boundary, ambiguous.
What words are commonly confused with "borderline"?
"borderline" is commonly confused with "bordering". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "borderline"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "borderline" is /ˈboɹ.dɚˌlaɪn/. 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 "borderline"?
From border + line. 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 "borderline", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 10 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

capitalize#18,513Cheltenham#18,515bestseller#18,496Chesapeake#18,516

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (15 here; floor ≥5).

benevolent15 variantswatermelon15 variantsFrenchman15 variantsstumbling15 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list