bottom

/ˈbɒ.təm/

//ˈbɒ.təm// noun

"bottom" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“bottom” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #1,521 in English word frequency and used as a noun.

#1,521
frequency rank, English
6
letters
7
tracked misspellings
9
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The lowest part of anything.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

bottom vs button
67% similar
bottom vs bottoms
86% similar
bottom vs bottomed
75% similar

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

Key facts for bottom
PropertyValue
Headwordbottom
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈbɒ.təm/
Letters6
Frequency rank#1,521
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs9
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “bottom” sits in English frequency

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

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for bottom is 6 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈbɒ.təm/. Corpus data places it at rank #1,521 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 25 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 bottom, with forms such as "bbottom", "botom", and "bototm". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 9 confusable-pair relationships, "button", "bottoms", "bottomed", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: PIE word *bʰudʰmḗn From Middle English botme, botom, from Old English botm, bodan (“bottom, foundation; ground, abyss”), from Proto-West Germanic *butm, from Proto-Germanic *butmaz, *budmaz (“bottom; ground”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰudʰmḗn (“bottom”).… The correct English form is bottom, spelled B-O-T-T-O-M.

Definition

  1. 1
    The lowest part of anything.
  2. 2
    The lowest part of anything.
  3. 3
    The lowest part of anything.
  4. 4
    The lowest part of anything.
  5. 5
    The lowest part of anything.
  6. 6
    The lowest part of anything.
  7. 7
    The lowest part of anything.
  8. 8
    The lowest part of anything.
  9. 9
    The remotest or innermost part of something.
  10. 10
    The fundamental part; a basic aspect.
  11. 11
    Low-lying land; a valley or hollow.
  12. 12
    Low-lying land near a river with alluvial soil.
  13. 13
    The buttocks or anus.
  14. 14
    The bed of a body of water.
  15. 15
    An abyss.
  16. 16
    A cargo vessel, a ship.
  17. 17
    Certain parts of a vessel, particularly the cargo hold or the portion of the ship that is always underwater.
  18. 18
    A person who has a receptive role or has a preference for that role during intercourse.
  19. 19
    A person who has a receptive role or has a preference for that role during intercourse.
  20. 20
    Character, reliability, staying power, dignity, integrity or sound judgment.
  21. 21
    Power of endurance.
  22. 22
    A ball or skein of thread; a cocoon.
  23. 23
    A trundle or spindle of thread.
  24. 24
    Dregs or grounds; lees; sediment.
  25. 25
    Ellipsis of bottom quark.

Etymology

PIE word *bʰudʰmḗn From Middle English botme, botom, from Old English botm, bodan (“bottom, foundation; ground, abyss”), from Proto-West Germanic *butm, from Proto-Germanic *butmaz, *budmaz (“bottom; ground”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰudʰmḗn (“bottom”). Cognates Cognate with Yola bothom, bottom (“bottom”), Saterland Frisian Boudem (“floor; ground”), West Frisian boaiem (“floor; ground”), Dutch bodem, boom, boôm (“bottom; ground, soil”), German Boden (“floor; ground; soil”), Limburgish baom (“bottom; ground, soil”), Luxembourgish Buedem (“bottom; earth, soil”), Vilamovian bödum (“bottom; ground”), Danish bund (“bottom”), Elfdalian buottn (“bottom”), Faroese botnur (“bottom”), Icelandic and Norwegian Nynorsk botn (“bottom”), Norwegian Bokmål botn, bunn (“bottom”), Swedish botten (“bottom”); also Irish and Scottish Gaelic bonn (“base, bottom; sole (of foot)”), Latin fundus (“bottom”) (whence fund, via French), Ancient Greek πυθμήν (puthmḗn, “bottom of a cup or jar; the bottom of the sea; butt of a tree”), Albanian buzë (“rocky chasm”), Armenian անդունդ (andund), անդունդք (andundkʻ, “abyss, chasm”), Northern Kurdish bin (“bottom”), Persian بن (bon, “bottom”), Sanskrit बुध्न (budhna, “bottom”). The sense “posterior of a person” is first attested in 1794; the verb “to reach the bottom of” is first attested in 1808. bottom dollar (“the last dollar one has”) is from 1882.

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: bbottom,botom,bototm,bottmo,bottomm,btotom,obttom

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

bbottom1botom1bototm2bottmo2bottomm1btotom2obttom2
Edit distance from "bottom"

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 "bottom"?
"bottom" is spelled B-O-T-T-O-M. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈbɒ.təm/.
What does "bottom" mean?
As a noun, "bottom" means: The lowest part of anything.
What words are commonly confused with "bottom"?
"bottom" is commonly confused with "button", "bottoms", "bottomed". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "bottom"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "bottom" is /ˈbɒ.təm/. 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 "bottom"?
PIE word *bʰudʰmḗn From Middle English botme, botom, from Old English botm, bodan (“bottom, foundation; ground, abyss”), from Proto-West Germanic *butm, from Proto-Germanic *butmaz, *budmaz (“bottom; ground”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰudʰmḗn (... 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.

Using “bottom”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is B-O-T-T-O-M - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /ˈbɒ.təm/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “button” - see the side-by-side comparison. bottom vs button
  • 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list