# boulder

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈbəʊl.də(ɹ)/ · frequency rank #10,994

## Definitions
1. A large mass of stone detached from the surrounding land.
2. A particle greater than 256 mm in diameter, following the Wentworth scale
3. A large marble, in children's games.
4. A session of bouldering; involvement in bouldering.

## Etymology
From late Middle English bulder, short for Middle English bulder ston (“a stone that's been worn into a round shape, boulder, cobblestone”), possibly from Old Swedish *buldersten, itself possibly from Old Swedish bulder (“rumble, noise”) + sten (“stone”); whence dialectal Swedish bullersten (“large stone in a stream, causing water to roar around it”). The first element may alternatively be allied to Old Swedish bulle, bolle (“round drinking vessel, tumbler”), from Old Norse bolli, related to Old English bolla (“round object, bowl”), see English bowl.

## Easily confused with
- **bowler** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/boulder-vs-bowler)
- **bulger** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/boulder-vs-bulger)
- **buller** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/boulder-vs-buller)
- **builder** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/boulder-vs-builder)
- **bounded** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/boulder-vs-bounded)
- **bouncer** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/boulder-vs-bouncer)
- **border** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/border-vs-boulder)
- **boiler** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/boiler-vs-boulder)
- **bolder** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bolder-vs-boulder)
- **blunder** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/blunder-vs-boulder)
- **Boucher** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/boucher-vs-boulder)
- **boarder** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/boarder-vs-boulder)

## Common misspellings (10)
`bboulder`, `boluder`, `boudler`, `bouldder`, `boulderr`, `bouldre`, `bouledr`, `boullder`, `buolder`, `obulder`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/boulder