bosom

/ˈbʊz(ə)m/

//ˈbʊz(ə)m// noun

"bosom" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“bosom” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #27,075. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#27,075
frequency rank, English
4,121
“B” headwords
7
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The breast or chest of a human (or sometimes of another animal).

Corpus desk

Index EN-bosom · bosom · English

bosom · rank #27,075 · 7 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #27,075
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 7 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,121
  • PHOTO-FINISH bonanza

Nearest frequency peer: bonanza (-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 “bosom”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “bosom” 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).

bosom vs boss
60% similar
bosom vs Brom
40% similar
bosom vs bozo
60% similar

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

Key facts for bosom
PropertyValue
Headwordbosom
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈbʊz(ə)m/
Letters5
Frequency rank#27,075
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “bosom”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).bosomlands here:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “bonanza” (#27,074), “bod” (#27,073), “bistro” (#27,072). Among 4,121 “B” headwords, “bosom” is #27,075. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 7 spelling variants around bosom (IPA /ˈbʊz(ə)m/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #27,075 among 4,121 “B” headwords. Wiktionary lists 7 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for bosom, with forms such as "bbosom", "boosm", and "bosmo". 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 20 confusable-pair relationships, "boss", "Brom", "bozo", 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 bosom, bosum, from Old English bōsm, from Proto-West Germanic *bōsm, from Proto-Germanic *bōsmaz, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰewH- (“to swell, bend, curve”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian Bossem, Bousem (“bosom”), West Frisian boezem (“… The correct English form is bosom, spelled B-O-S-O-M.

Definition

  1. 1
    The breast or chest of a human (or sometimes of another animal).
  2. 2
    The seat of one's inner thoughts, feelings, etc.; one's secret feelings; desire.
  3. 3
    The protected interior or inner part of something; the area enclosed as by an embrace.
  4. 4
    The part of a dress etc. covering the chest; a neckline.
  5. 5
    A breast, one of a woman's breasts
  6. 6
    Any thing or place resembling the breast; a supporting surface; an inner recess; the interior.
  7. 7
    A depression round the eye of a millstone.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Serene, smiling, enigmatic, she faced him with no fear whatever showing in her dark eyes.[…]She put back a truant curl from her forehead where it had sought egress to the world, and looked him full in the face now, drawing a deep breath which caused the round of her bosom to lift the lace at her throat.
  2. Mary felt annoyed at the girl; just because bras had become passé, did a girl with so pronounced a bosom have to cater to fashion? In this case practicality dictated a bra, and Mary stood at the desk feeling herself flushing with disapproval.

Etymology

From Middle English bosom, bosum, from Old English bōsm, from Proto-West Germanic *bōsm, from Proto-Germanic *bōsmaz, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰewH- (“to swell, bend, curve”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian Bossem, Bousem (“bosom”), West Frisian boezem (“bosom”), Dutch boezem (“bosom”), German Busen (“bosom”). Related also to Albanian buzë (“lip”), Greek βυζί (vyzí, “breast”), Romanian buză (“lip”), Irish bus (“lip”), and Latin bucca (“cheek”).

Synonyms

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • bbosom
  • boosm
  • bosmo
  • bosomm
  • bossom
  • bsoom
  • obsom

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

bbosom1boosm2bosmo2bosomm1bossom1bsoom2obsom2
Edit distance from "bosom"

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 "bosom"?
"bosom" is spelled B-O-S-O-M. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈbʊz(ə)m/.
What does "bosom" mean?
As a noun, "bosom" means: The breast or chest of a human (or sometimes of another animal).
What words are commonly confused with "bosom"?
"bosom" is commonly confused with "boss", "Brom", "bozo". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "bosom"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "bosom" is /ˈbʊz(ə)m/. 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 "bosom"?
From Middle English bosom, bosum, from Old English bōsm, from Proto-West Germanic *bōsm, from Proto-Germanic *bōsmaz, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰewH- (“to swell, bend, curve”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian Bossem, Bousem (“bosom”), West Frisian... 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 "bosom", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (7 here; floor ≥5).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list