bowling

/ˈbəʊlɪŋ/

//ˈbəʊlɪŋ// verb

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

"bowling" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“bowling” has 10 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #6,548. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#6,548
frequency rank, English
4,121
“B” headwords
10
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - present participle and gerund of bowl

Corpus desk

Index EN-bowling · bowling · English

bowling · rank #6,548 · 10 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #6,548
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 10 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,121
  • PHOTO-FINISH bout

Nearest frequency peer: bout (-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 “bowling”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “bowling” 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).

bowling vs boxing
71% similar
bowling vs browsing
75% similar
bowling vs browning
75% similar

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

Key facts for bowling
PropertyValue
Headwordbowling
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/ˈbəʊlɪŋ/
Letters7
Frequency rank#6,548
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “bowling”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).bowlinglands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “bout” (#6,547), “brass” (#6,549), “booked” (#6,546). Among 4,121 “B” headwords, “bowling” is #6,548. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 10 spelling variants around bowling (IPA /ˈbəʊlɪŋ/), averb. Corpus frequency is #6,548 among 4,121 “B” headwords. Dominant gloss: "present participle and gerund of bowl".

Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for bowling, with forms such as "bbowling", "bowilng", and "bowlign". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "boxing", "browsing", "browning", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

This headword's origin isn't recorded in our source data, so its spelling is best read as a straightforward mapping from sound to letter. The correct English form is bowling, spelled B-O-W-L-I-N-G.

Definition

  1. 1
    present participle and gerund of bowl

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • bbowling
  • bowilng
  • bowlign
  • bowlingg
  • bowlinng
  • bowlling
  • bowlnig
  • bowwling
  • bwoling
  • obwling

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of bowling - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

bbowling1bowilng2bowlign2bowlingg1bowlinng1bowlling1bowlnig2bowwling1
Edit distance from "bowling"

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 "bowling"?
"bowling" is spelled B-O-W-L-I-N-G. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈbəʊlɪŋ/.
What does "bowling" mean?
As a verb, "bowling" means: present participle and gerund of bowl
What words are commonly confused with "bowling"?
"bowling" is commonly confused with "boxing", "browsing", "browning". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "bowling"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "bowling" is /ˈbəʊlɪŋ/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "bowling" come from?
"bowling" is a English word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
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 "bowling", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

apology#6,541declare#6,555unhappy#6,535dresses#6,565

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (10 here; floor ≥5).

adequate10 variantsMontana10 variantsobserve10 variantsshooter10 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list