boron
/ˈbɔːˌɹɒn/
"boron" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“boron” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #31,881 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #31,881
- frequency rank, English
- 5
- letters
- 7
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The chemical element (symbol B) with an atomic number of 5, which is a metalloid found in its pure form as a dark amorphous powder.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | boron |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈbɔːˌɹɒn/ |
| Letters | 5 |
| Frequency rank | #31,881 |
| Misspellings tracked | 7 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “boron” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for boron is 5 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈbɔːˌɹɒn/. Corpus data places it at rank #31,881 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 generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for boron, with forms such as "bboron", "boorn", and "borno". 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 20 confusable-pair relationships, "bro", "burn", "bros", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.
Etymologically, the entry records: From the stem of borax (boro-) + -on (based on carbon). Coined by British chemist Humphry Davy as a modification of his earlier word boracium. The correct English form is boron, spelled B-O-R-O-N.
Definition
- 1The chemical element (symbol B) with an atomic number of 5, which is a metalloid found in its pure form as a dark amorphous powder.
- 2A single atom of this element.
Etymology
From the stem of borax (boro-) + -on (based on carbon). Coined by British chemist Humphry Davy as a modification of his earlier word boracium.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: bboron,boorn,borno,boronn,borron,broon,obron
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of boron - 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.
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
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Using “boron”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is B-O-R-O-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈbɔːˌɹɒn/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “bro” - see the side-by-side comparison. boron vs bro
- 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.