borrow
/ˈbɒɹəʊ/
"borrow" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“borrow” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #7,101. The variants make it a useful spelling check.
- #7,101
- frequency rank, English
- 4,121
- “B” headwords
- 7
- tracked misspellings
- 9
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To receive (something) from somebody temporarily, expecting to return it.
Corpus desk
Index EN-borrow · borrow · English
borrow · rank #7,101 · 7 variants · 9 confusables
- FREQ-COMMON #7,101
- LEN-LONG 6 letters
- VOW-2 2 vowels
- CONFUS-MID 9 pairs
- VAR-MID 7 variants
- BOOK-MID 4,121
- PHOTO-FINISH bo
Nearest frequency peer: bo (-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.
Frequency neighbourhood for “borrow”
Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)
- betting
betting
92,903 corpus weight
- Blair
Blair
92,902 corpus weight
- bo
bo
92,901 corpus weight
- borrow
borrow
92,900 corpus weight
- camping
camping
92,899 corpus weight
- capitol
capitol
92,898 corpus weight
What this shows Bars show where “borrow” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.
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 | borrow |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /ˈbɒɹəʊ/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #7,101 |
| Misspellings tracked | 7 |
| Confusable pairs | 9 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “borrow” sits in English frequency
A misspelling magnet
The generator records 7 spelling variants around borrow (IPA /ˈbɒɹəʊ/), averb. Corpus frequency is #7,101 among 4,121 “B” headwords. Wiktionary lists 12 senses, so context still picks the gloss.
Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for borrow, with forms such as "bborrow", "bororw", and "borow". 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 9 confusable-pair relationships, "brow", "burrow", "borrowed", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English borwen, borȝien, Old English borgian (“to borrow, lend, pledge surety for”), from Proto-West Germanic *borgōn, from Proto-Germanic *burgōną (“to pledge, take care of”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰergʰ- (“to take care”). Cognate with Dut… The correct English form is borrow, spelled B-O-R-R-O-W.
Definition
- 1To receive (something) from somebody temporarily, expecting to return it.
- 2To receive money from a bank or other lender under the agreement that the lender will be paid back over time.
- 3To adopt (an idea) as one's own.
- 4To adopt a word from another language.
- 5In a subtraction, to deduct (one) from a digit of the minuend and add ten to the following digit, in order that the subtraction of a larger digit in the subtrahend from the digit in the minuend to which ten is added gives a positive result.
- 6To lend.
- 7To temporarily obtain (something) for (someone).
- 8To feign or counterfeit.
- 9To secure the release of (someone) from prison.
- 10To receive (something, usually of trifling value) from somebody, with little possibility of returning it.
- 11To interrupt the current activity of (a person) and lead them away in order to speak with them, get their help, etc.
- 12To adjust one's aim in order to compensate for the slope of the green.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how borrow appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Finance is seldom romantic. But the idea of peer-to-peer lending comes close. This is an industry that brings together individual savers and lenders on online platforms. Those that want to borrow are matched with those that want to lend.
to borrow the style, manner, or opinions of another
Etymology
From Middle English borwen, borȝien, Old English borgian (“to borrow, lend, pledge surety for”), from Proto-West Germanic *borgōn, from Proto-Germanic *burgōną (“to pledge, take care of”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰergʰ- (“to take care”). Cognate with Dutch borgen (“to borrow, trust”), German borgen (“to borrow, lend”), Danish borge (“to vouch”). Related to Old English beorgan (“to save, preserve”). More at bury.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as:
- bborrow
- bororw
- borow
- borroww
- borrwo
- brorow
- obrrow
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of borrow - 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.
PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 3, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you spell "borrow"?
What does "borrow" mean?
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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "borrow", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).
Similar misspelling depth
Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (7 here; floor ≥5).
What to do next
You've looked up "borrow". Here's where to go from here.
- "borrow" maps to 9 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "brow". View pair
- 7 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
- Usage frequency rank #7,101 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
- Browse more English words in the "B" letter cohort. B–Z browse
- PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day
PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.
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.