bosom friend
"bosom-friend" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“bosom friend” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 12
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A very close friend.
Corpus desk
Index EN-bosom-friend · bosom friend · English
bosom friend · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MEGA 12 letters
- VOW-4 4 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "B" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
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.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | bosom friend |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| Letters | 12 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “bosom friend” in English
Rare enough to double-check
bosom friend is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A very close friend.".
We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for bosom friend, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. Our dataset records no confusable match here, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
Etymologically, the entry records: Compound of bosom + friend. Compare typologically Russian напе́рсник (napérsnik), akin to Proto-Slavic *pьrsь, Russian закады́чный друг (zakadýčnyj drug), akin to кады́к (kadýk)). The correct English form is bosom friend, spelled B-O-S-O-M- -F-R-I-E-N-D.
Definition
- 1A very close friend.
Recorded use
Wiktionary exampleThese source excerpts show how bosom friend appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
I pour you the farewell wine as you set out from the capital— Soon I shall be left behind here by my bosom-friend. In your sail-boat of sweet cinnamon-wood You will float again toward your own thatch door
Etymology
Compound of bosom + friend. Compare typologically Russian напе́рсник (napérsnik), akin to Proto-Slavic *pьrsь, Russian закады́чный друг (zakadýčnyj drug), akin to кады́к (kadýk)).
Synonyms
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.