breach

/bɹiːtʃ/

//bɹiːtʃ// noun

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

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

The verdict

“breach” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #5,764 in English word frequency and used as a noun.

#5,764
frequency rank, English
6
letters
9
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A gap or opening made by breaking or battering, as in a wall, fortification or levee / embankment; the space between the parts of a solid body rent by violence.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

breach vs break
67% similar
breach vs bread
67% similar
breach vs bream
67% similar

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

Key facts for breach
PropertyValue
Headwordbreach
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/bɹiːtʃ/
Letters6
Frequency rank#5,764
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “breach” 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). breach 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 breach is 6 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /bɹiːtʃ/. Corpus data places it at rank #5,764 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 9 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for breach, with forms such as "bbreach", "berach", and "braech". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "break", "bread", "bream", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English breche, from Old English bryċe (“fracture, breach”) and brǣċ (“breach, breaking, destruction”), from Proto-West Germanic *bruki, from Proto-Germanic *brukiz (“breach, fissure”) and *brēkō (“breaking”). The correct English form is breach, spelled B-R-E-A-C-H.

Definition

  1. 1
    A gap or opening made by breaking or battering, as in a wall, fortification or levee / embankment; the space between the parts of a solid body rent by violence.
  2. 2
    The act of breaking, in a figurative sense.
  3. 3
    A breaking or infraction of a law, or of any obligation or tie; violation; non-fulfillment.
  4. 4
    A breaking up of amicable relations, a falling out.
  5. 5
    A difference in opinions, social class, etc.
  6. 6
    A breaking of waters, as over a vessel or a coastal defence; the waters themselves.
  7. 7
    A breaking out upon; an assault.
  8. 8
    A bruise; a wound.
  9. 9
    A hernia; a rupture.

Etymology

From Middle English breche, from Old English bryċe (“fracture, breach”) and brǣċ (“breach, breaking, destruction”), from Proto-West Germanic *bruki, from Proto-Germanic *brukiz (“breach, fissure”) and *brēkō (“breaking”).

Synonyms

breakgapriftrupture

This word in other languages

brecha(Español)brèche(Français)Bruch(Deutsch)brecha(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: bbreach,berach,braech,breacch,breachh,breahc,brecah,brreach,rbeach

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

bbreach1berach2braech2breacch1breachh1breahc2brecah2brreach1
Edit distance from "breach"

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 "breach"?
"breach" is spelled B-R-E-A-C-H. The IPA pronunciation is /bɹiːtʃ/.
What does "breach" mean?
As a noun, "breach" means: A gap or opening made by breaking or battering, as in a wall, fortification or levee / embankment; the space between the parts of a solid body rent by violence.
What words are commonly confused with "breach"?
"breach" is commonly confused with "break", "bread", "bream". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "breach"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "breach" is /bɹiːtʃ/. 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 "breach"?
From Middle English breche, from Old English bryċe (“fracture, breach”) and brǣċ (“breach, breaking, destruction”), from Proto-West Germanic *bruki, from Proto-Germanic *brukiz (“breach, fissure”) and *brēkō (“breaking”). 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 “breach”

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

  • The one correct English spelling is B-R-E-A-C-H - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /bɹiːtʃ/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “break” - see the side-by-side comparison. breach vs break
  • 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