brimstone

/ˈbɹɪmstəʊn/

//ˈbɹɪmstəʊn// noun

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

"brimstone" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“brimstone” has 14 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #36,055. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#36,055
frequency rank, English
4,121
“B” headwords
14
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The sulfur of hell; hell, damnation.

Corpus desk

Index EN-brimstone · brimstone · English

brimstone · rank #36,055 · 14 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #36,055
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 14 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,121
  • PHOTO-FINISH breastfeed

Nearest frequency peer: breastfeed (-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 “brimstone”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “brimstone” 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
Key facts for brimstone
PropertyValue
Headwordbrimstone
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈbɹɪmstəʊn/
Letters9
Frequency rank#36,055
Misspellings tracked14
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “brimstone”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).brimstonelands 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 “breastfeed” (#36,054), “Bristow” (#36,056), “bounties” (#36,053). Among 4,121 “B” headwords, “brimstone” is #36,055. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 14 spelling variants around brimstone (IPA /ˈbɹɪmstəʊn/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #36,055 among 4,121 “B” headwords. Wiktionary lists 6 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 14 likely wrong-spelling variants for brimstone, with forms such as "bbrimstone", "birmstone", and "brimmstone". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. Our dataset records no confusable match here, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English brymston, brimston, bremston, forms of brinston, brenston, bernston, from Old English brynstān (“brimstone”, literally “burn-stone”), equivalent to brian + stone, or burn + stone. Cognate with Scots brunstane (“brimstone”), Icelandic bre… The correct English form is brimstone, spelled B-R-I-M-S-T-O-N-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    The sulfur of hell; hell, damnation.
  2. 2
    Sulfur.
  3. 3
    A whore.
  4. 4
    Used attributively as an intensifier in exclamations.
  5. 5
    The butterfly Gonepteryx rhamni of the Pieridae family.
  6. 6
    Online content of exceptionally poor quality, lower than coal.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. For griefe thereof, and diuelish despight, / From his infernall fournace forth he threw / Huge flames, that dimmed all the heauens light, / Enrold in duskish smoke and brimstone blew.
  2. And thus I sawe the horses in the vision, and them that sate on them, hauing brest-plates of fire and of Iacinct, and brimstone, & the heades of the horses were as the heads of Lions, and out of their mouthes issued fire, and smoke, and brimstone.

Etymology

From Middle English brymston, brimston, bremston, forms of brinston, brenston, bernston, from Old English brynstān (“brimstone”, literally “burn-stone”), equivalent to brian + stone, or burn + stone. Cognate with Scots brunstane (“brimstone”), Icelandic brennisteinn (“sulfur / sulphur, brimstone”), German Bernstein (“amber”). Compare also brimfire. More at burn, stone. Although once a synonym for sulfur, the word is now largely restricted to poetic and Biblical usage.

This word in other languages

citron(Français)Zitronenfalter(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • bbrimstone
  • birmstone
  • brimmstone
  • brimsotne
  • brimsstone
  • brimstnoe
  • brimstoen
  • brimstonne
  • brimsttone
  • brimtsone
  • brismtone
  • brmistone
  • brrimstone
  • rbimstone

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of brimstone - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

bbrimstone1birmstone2brimmstone1brimsotne2brimsstone1brimstnoe2brimstoen2brimstonne1
Edit distance from "brimstone"

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 "brimstone"?
"brimstone" is spelled B-R-I-M-S-T-O-N-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈbɹɪmstəʊn/.
What does "brimstone" mean?
As a noun, "brimstone" means: The sulfur of hell; hell, damnation.
What are common misspellings of "brimstone"?
Common misspellings include "bbrimstone", "birmstone", "brimmstone", "brimsotne", "brimsstone". The correct spelling is "brimstone".
How do you pronounce "brimstone"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "brimstone" is /ˈbɹɪmstəʊn/. 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 "brimstone"?
From Middle English brymston, brimston, bremston, forms of brinston, brenston, bernston, from Old English brynstān (“brimstone”, literally “burn-stone”), equivalent to brian + stone, or burn + stone. Cognate with Scots brunstane (“brimstone”), Ice... 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 "brimstone", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Belichick#36,051butcher's#36,060appellant#36,038chlamydia#36,073

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (14 here; floor ≥5).

cognizant14 variantsconstrain14 variantswithstood14 variantsDougherty14 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list