both

/bəʊθ/

//bəʊθ// det

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

"both" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“both” has 6 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #157. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#157
frequency rank, English
4,121
“B” headwords
6
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Each of the two; one and the other; referring to two individuals or items.

Corpus desk

Index EN-both · both · English

both · rank #157 · 6 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-CORE #157
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 6 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,121
  • PHOTO-FINISH used

Nearest frequency peer: used (-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 “both”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “both” 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).

both vs Bt
25% similar
both vs but
50% similar
both vs boy
50% similar

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

Key facts for both
PropertyValue
Headwordboth
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechDeterminer
IPA/bəʊθ/
Letters4
Frequency rank#157
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “both”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).bothlands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “used” (#156), “every” (#158), “same” (#155). Among 4,121 “B” headwords, “both” is #157. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 6 spelling variants around both (IPA /bəʊθ/), adeterminer. Corpus frequency is #157 among 4,121 “B” headwords. Dominant gloss: "Each of the two; one and the other; referring to two individuals or items.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for both, with forms such as "bboth", "boht", and "bothh". 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, "Bt", "but", "boy", 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 bothe, boþe, from Old English bā þā (“both the; both those”) and possibly reinforced by Old Norse báðir, from Proto-Germanic *bai. Cognate with Saterland Frisian bee (“both”), West Frisian beide (“both”), Dutch beide (“both”), German bei… The correct English form is both, spelled B-O-T-H.

Definition

  1. 1
    Each of the two; one and the other; referring to two individuals or items.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Both (the/my) children are such dolls.
  2. Which one do you need? ―I need both of them.

Etymology

From Middle English bothe, boþe, from Old English bā þā (“both the; both those”) and possibly reinforced by Old Norse báðir, from Proto-Germanic *bai. Cognate with Saterland Frisian bee (“both”), West Frisian beide (“both”), Dutch beide (“both”), German beide (“both”), Swedish både, båda, Danish både, Norwegian både, Icelandic báðir. Replaced Middle English bō, from Old English bā, a form of Old English bēġen. A remnant of the Indo-European dual grammatical number.

This word in other languages

ambos(Español)tous les deux(Français)beide(Deutsch)ambos(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • bboth
  • boht
  • bothh
  • botth
  • btoh
  • obth

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of both - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

bboth1boht2bothh1botth1btoh2obth2
Edit distance from "both"

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 "both"?
"both" is spelled B-O-T-H. The IPA pronunciation is /bəʊθ/.
What does "both" mean?
As a determiner, "both" means: Each of the two; one and the other; referring to two individuals or items.
What words are commonly confused with "both"?
"both" is commonly confused with "Bt", "but", "boy". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "both"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "both" is /bəʊθ/. 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 "both"?
From Middle English bothe, boþe, from Old English bā þā (“both the; both those”) and possibly reinforced by Old Norse báðir, from Proto-Germanic *bai. Cognate with Saterland Frisian bee (“both”), West Frisian beide (“both”), Dutch beide (“both”), ... 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 "both", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

used#156same#155come#161part#162

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (6 here; floor ≥5).

three6 variantslong6 variantssuch6 variantsfind6 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list