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PlainSpell

broach

/bɹoʊt͡ʃ/noun, verb

broach is spelled B-R-O-A-C-H: 6 letters and one syllable. It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 45,947th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). People search “broach vs brooch” about 320 times a month (Google, United States). As a noun, broach means “A series of chisel points mounted on one piece of steel. For example, the toothed stone chisel shown here” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of broach is broaches.

How many letters and syllables are in broach?

Letters6: B-R-O-A-C-H
Syllables1 (from its American pronunciation)
In writingabout once in every 2 million words; the 45,947th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search
Pairs people search
Sounds like
Rhymes with

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.

How common is broach?

Broach appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 45,947th most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce broach?

  • UK /bɹəʊtʃ/
  • US /bɹoʊt͡ʃ/

Broach has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-broach.oga, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-broach.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Words people confuse with broach

Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).

broach vs brooch320 G

Sounds like: brooch (Wiktionary's homophone list; some hold only in some accents).

Also written: brooch.

Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).

What rhymes with broach?

5 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as broach from its last stressed vowel (/oʊtʃ/):

Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).

Forms of broach

  • broaches plural, present, singular, he/she/it
  • broaching participle, present
  • broached participle, past

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does broach mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

noun

  1. 1

    A series of chisel points mounted on one piece of steel. For example, the toothed stone chisel shown here.

  2. 2

    A broad chisel for stone-cutting.

  3. 3

    Alternative spelling of brooch.

  4. 4

    A spit for cooking food.

  5. 5

    An awl; a bodkin; also, a wooden rod or pin, sharpened at each end, used by thatchers.

  6. 6

    UKA spire rising from a tower.

  7. 7

    A spit-like start on the head of a young stag.

  8. 8

    The stick from which candle wicks are suspended for dipping.

verb

  1. 1

    To make a hole in, especially a cask of liquor, and put in a tap in order to draw the liquid.

  2. 2

    To open, to make an opening into; to pierce.

    French knights at Agincourt were unable to broach the English line.

  3. 3

    To begin discussion about (something).

    I broached the subject of contraceptives carefully when the teenager mentioned his promiscuity.

  4. 4

    To be turned sideways to oncoming waves, especially large or breaking waves.

    The small boat broached and nearly sank, because of the large waves.

  5. 5

    To cause to turn sideways to oncoming waves, especially large or breaking waves (usually followed by to; also figurative).

    18th C, Thomas Dibdin, Tom Bowling Here a sheer hulk lies poor Tom Bowling ... for death hath broached him to.

  6. 6

    To break the surface of the water.

    Diving officer, broach the ship!

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Broach in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchperforer, percer un tonneau (make a hole in), aborder (begin discussion about)
Germananzapfen (make a hole in), ansprechen, aufbringen (begin discussion about)
Spanishespitar (make a hole in), sacar a colación, plantear, sacar a relucir, sacar el tema, traer a colación (begin discussion about)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does broach come from?

From Middle English broche, from Old French broche, from Vulgar Latin *brocca, originally a feminine form of Latin broccus, perhaps ultimately of Gaulish origin (see Scottish Gaelic bròg). Doublet of brochure.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after broach