English Word Reference Free

bridge

Definition, pronunciation, etymology, and usage for the English word. Free spelling reference powered by Wiktionary.

Browse Words → Compare Confusables

By · Reviewed against Wiktionary & Hunspell sources ·

Letters

6 characters

Language

English

word origin

Source

Wiktionary

open dictionary

Access

Free

no sign-up needed

Detailed reference entry for the English word "bridge", 6-letters, with pronunciation in International Phonetic Alphabet notation, etymology traced through Germanic and Romance roots where applicable, common misspelling variants catalogued from Hunspell error dictionaries, and usage frequency ranked against the top 100,000 English words in the Wordfreq corpus. PlainSpell covers English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German spelling with confusable-pair detection that highlights visually and phonetically similar words. This entry for "bridge" includes synonyms, antonyms, homophones, and cross-language translation pointers sourced from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org extract. Whether you are verifying the correct spelling of "bridge" for academic writing, checking homophone confusion, or exploring etymological origins, this page provides a citation-backed, free reference that requires no sign-up.

bridge is aEnglishnoun. It means: A construction or natural feature that spans a divide. Pronounced /bɹɪd͡ʒ/. It ranks #1,746 in English word frequency. Often confused with brig and brie.

Key facts for bridge
PropertyValue
Headwordbridge
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/bɹɪd͡ʒ/
Letters6
Frequency rank#1,746
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency rank visualization

Position of bridge in English word frequency (lower rank = more common)

Source: Wordfreq corpus

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for bridge is 6 letters long, classified as anoun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /bɹɪd͡ʒ/. Corpus data places it at rank #1,746 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text.Wiktionary records 31 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our Hunspell-derived misspelling index lists 9 documented wrong-spelling variants for bridge, with forms such as "bbridge", "birdge", and "brdige". Each variant represents a distinct typo pattern that appears often enough in corpora to be worth flagging, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution.It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "brig", "brie", "bring", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English brigge, from Old English brycġ (“bridge”), from Proto-Germanic *brugjō, *brugjǭ (“bridge”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰerw-, *bʰrēw- (“wooden flooring, decking, bridge”). Cognates Cognate with Scots brig, brigg (“bridge”), Yola burge (“… Root origin matters for spelling because borrowed morphemes (Greek, Latin, Old French, Old English) carry their source-language orthographic conventions into modern English, which is why historical etymology is often the cleanest predictor of whether a cluster like "-ough", "-eau", or "-tion" will appear. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct English form is bridge, spelled B-R-I-D-G-E, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

Definition

  1. 1
    A construction or natural feature that spans a divide.
  2. 2
    A construction or natural feature that spans a divide.
  3. 3
    A construction or natural feature that spans a divide.
  4. 4
    A construction or natural feature that spans a divide.
  5. 5
    An arch or superstructure.
  6. 6
    An arch or superstructure.
  7. 7
    An arch or superstructure.
  8. 8
    An arch or superstructure.
  9. 9
    An arch or superstructure.
  10. 10
    An arch or superstructure.
  11. 11
    An arch or superstructure.
  12. 12
    A connection, real or abstract.
  13. 13
    A connection, real or abstract.
  14. 14
    A connection, real or abstract.
  15. 15
    A connection, real or abstract.
  16. 16
    A connection, real or abstract.
  17. 17
    A connection, real or abstract.
  18. 18
    A connection, real or abstract.
  19. 19
    A connection, real or abstract.
  20. 20
    A connection, real or abstract.
  21. 21
    A connection, real or abstract.
  22. 22
    A connection, real or abstract.
  23. 23
    A connection, real or abstract.
  24. 24
    A connection, real or abstract.
  25. 25
    A connection, real or abstract.
  26. 26
    Any of several electrical devices that measure characteristics such as impedance and inductance by balancing different parts of a circuit
  27. 27
    A low wall or vertical partition in the fire chamber of a furnace, for deflecting flame, etc.; a bridge wall.
  28. 28
    The situation where a lone rider or small group of riders closes the space between them and the rider or group in front.
  29. 29
    A solid crust of undissolved salt in a water softener.
  30. 30
    An elongated chain of teammates, connected to the pack, for improved blocking potential.
  31. 31
    A form of cheating by which a card is cut by previously curving it by pressure of the hand.

Etymology

From Middle English brigge, from Old English brycġ (“bridge”), from Proto-Germanic *brugjō, *brugjǭ (“bridge”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰerw-, *bʰrēw- (“wooden flooring, decking, bridge”). Cognates Cognate with Scots brig, brigg (“bridge”), Yola burge (“bridge”), North Frisian brag, Bröch (“bridge”), Saterland Frisian Brääch, Brääg (“bridge”), West Frisian brêge (“bridge”), Dutch brug (“bridge”), German Brücke (“bridge”), Limburgish brögk (“bridge”), Luxembourgish Bréck (“bridge”), Vilamovian bryk (“bridge”), Yiddish בריק (brik, “bridge”), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål brygge (“jetty, pier, wharf”), Faroese, Icelandic bryggja (“pier”), Norwegian Nynorsk brygge, bryggje (“jetty, pier, wharf”), Swedish brygga (“bridge; pier”). The verb is from Middle English briggen, from Old English brycġian (“to bridge, make a causeway, pave”), derived from the noun. Cognate with Dutch bruggen (“to bridge”), Middle Low German bruggen (“to bridge”), Old High German bruccōn (“to bridge”) (whence Modern German brücken). The sense of a part of a stringed instrument is a semantic loan from German Steg, from Old High German steg.

This word in other languages

Spanish(Español)Portuguese(Português)French(Français)German(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: bbridge,birdge,brdige,briddge,brideg,bridgge,brigde,brridge,rbidge

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

Relative frequency of common misspelling types for bridge

Misspelling Variants of "bridge"

bbridge7birdge6brdige6briddge7brideg6bridgge7brigde6brridge7
Misspelling Variants of "bridge"

Frequency rank: #1,746 in English

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "bridge"?
"bridge" is spelled B-R-I-D-G-E. The IPA pronunciation is /bɹɪd͡ʒ/.
What does "bridge" mean?
As a noun, "bridge" means: A construction or natural feature that spans a divide.
What words are commonly confused with "bridge"?
"bridge" is commonly confused with "brig", "brie", "bring". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "bridge"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "bridge" is /bɹɪd͡ʒ/. 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 "bridge"?
From Middle English brigge, from Old English brycġ (“bridge”), from Proto-Germanic *brugjō, *brugjǭ (“bridge”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰerw-, *bʰrēw- (“wooden flooring, decking, bridge”). Cognates Cognate with Scots brig, brigg (“bridge”), Yol... 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.

Nearby English words

Other entries that begin with the letter B in our English index:

All "B" wordsABCDEFGHIJKL

Explore PlainSpell

English Words

Browse all English

Words: B

Browse "b" words

Confusable Pairs

Commonly confused words

Spelling Guides

Tips & reference

Data Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Frequency data from Wordfreq. Misspellings derived from Hunspell dictionaries.