bough
/ˈbaʊ̯/noun
bough is spelled B-O-U-G-H: 5 letters and one syllable. It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 40,267th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). People search “bough vs bow” about 40 times a month (Google, United States). As a noun, bough means “A tree-branch, usually a primary one directly attached to the trunk” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of bough is boughs.
How many letters and syllables are in bough?
| Letters | 5: B-O-U-G-H |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 40,267th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Pairs people search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026).
How common is bough?
Bough appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 40,267th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce bough?
- /ˈbaʊ̯/
- [ˈbaʊ̯]
- /ˈbæʊ̯/
Bough has one syllable.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-uk-bough.ogg, En-us-bough.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with bough
Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).
Also written: bow.
Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
Forms of bough
- boughs plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does bough mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A tree-branch, usually a primary one directly attached to the trunk.
When the bough breaks, the cradle will fall. (Rock-a-bye Baby)
- 2
obsoleteA gallows.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Bough in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense firm (and often larger) branch of a tree:
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does bough come from?
From Middle English bough (“branch of a bush or tree, especially a main branch; limb of an animal or person; something resembling a branch (such as a plant root or branch of a nerve); (figuratively) Christian cross; descendant, offspring”) [and other forms], from Old English bōg, bōh (“tree bough or branch; arm; shoulder”), from Proto-West Germanic *bōgu, from Proto-Germanic *bōguz (“shoulder; upper arm”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂ǵʰús (“arm”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).