bridge

/bɹɪd͡ʒ/

//bɹɪd͡ʒ// noun

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

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

The verdict

“bridge” has 9 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #1,746. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#1,746
frequency rank, English
4,121
“B” headwords
9
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A construction or natural feature that spans a divide.

Corpus desk

Index EN-bridge · bridge · English

bridge · rank #1,746 · 9 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #1,746
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 9 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,121
  • PHOTO-FINISH birth

Nearest frequency peer: birth (-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 “bridge”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “bridge” 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).

bridge vs brig
67% similar
bridge vs brie
67% similar
bridge vs bring
67% similar

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

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 seat of misspelling magnet “bridge”

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).bridgelands here:

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “birth” (#1,745), “carried” (#1,747), “background” (#1,744). Among 4,121 “B” headwords, “bridge” is #1,746. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 9 spelling variants around bridge (IPA /bɹɪd͡ʒ/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #1,746 among 4,121 “B” headwords. Wiktionary lists 31 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for bridge, with forms such as "bbridge", "birdge", and "brdige". 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, "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 (“… The correct English form is bridge, spelled B-R-I-D-G-E.

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.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how bridge appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. The rope bridge crosses the river.
  2. It was a beautiful view from the Brooklyn Bridge.

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

puente(Español)pont(Français)Brücke(Deutsch)ponte(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • bbridge
  • birdge
  • brdige
  • briddge
  • brideg
  • bridgge
  • brigde
  • brridge
  • rbidge

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

bbridge1birdge2brdige2briddge1brideg2bridgge1brigde2brridge1
Edit distance from "bridge"

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 "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.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "bridge", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

thinks#1,741garden#1,757Israel#1,761length#1,765

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (9 here; floor ≥5).

classes9 variantsrequire9 variantsefforts9 variantssetting9 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list