bowstring
/ˈboʊ.stɹɪŋ/
"bowstring" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“bowstring” is uncommon English (frequency #97,879 among 4,121 “B” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #97,879
- frequency rank, English
- 4,121
- “B” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The string of an archer's bow.
Corpus desk
Index EN-bowstring · bowstring · English
bowstring · rank #97,879 · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-RARE #97,879
- LEN-LONG 9 letters
- VOW-2 2 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-MID 4,121
- PHOTO-FINISH brede
Nearest frequency peer: brede (+3 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.
Long-tail ranks near “bowstring”
Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter
- borage
borage
2,128 corpus weight
- borohydride
borohydride
2,127 corpus weight
- bowstring
bowstring
2,122 corpus weight
- brede
brede
2,119 corpus weight
- breezing
breezing
2,118 corpus weight
- Brer
Brer
2,117 corpus weight
What this shows Long-tail view: where “bowstring” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | bowstring |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈboʊ.stɹɪŋ/ |
| Letters | 9 |
| Frequency rank | #97,879 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “bowstring” in English
Rare enough to double-check
bowstring is uncommon English at frequency #97,879 among 4,121 “B” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈboʊ.stɹɪŋ/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
bowstring has no tracked misspelling variants, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
Etymologically, the entry records: From bow + string. The correct English form is bowstring, spelled B-O-W-S-T-R-I-N-G.
Definition
- 1The string of an archer's bow.
- 2The string of an archer's bow, as used by the Turks for strangling offenders.
Recorded use
Wiktionary exampleThese source excerpts show how bowstring appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
For an instant he glanced along the polished shaft, drawing the bowstring far back, that the arrow might pierce through the heart for which it was aimed.
Etymology
From bow + string.
This word in other languages
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
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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "bowstring", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).