broadcast
/ˈbɹɔːdkɑːst/
"broadcast" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“broadcast” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #3,673 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.
- #3,673
- frequency rank, English
- 9
- letters
- 14
- tracked misspellings
- 2
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Cast or scattered widely in all directions; cast abroad.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | broadcast |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ˈbɹɔːdkɑːst/ |
| Letters | 9 |
| Frequency rank | #3,673 |
| Misspellings tracked | 14 |
| Confusable pairs | 2 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “broadcast” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for broadcast is 9 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈbɹɔːdkɑːst/. Corpus data places it at rank #3,673 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 14 likely wrong-spelling variants for broadcast, with forms such as "bbroadcast", "boradcast", and "braodcast". 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. It also participates in 2 confusable-pair relationships, "broadest", "broadcaster", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.
Etymologically, the entry records: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *bʰer-der.? Proto-Germanic *braidaz Proto-West Germanic *braid Old English brād Middle English brod English broad Proto-Germanic *kas- Proto-Germanic *kastōną Old Norse kastabor. Middle English casten English cast English … The correct English form is broadcast, spelled B-R-O-A-D-C-A-S-T.
Definition
- 1Cast or scattered widely in all directions; cast abroad.
- 2Communicated, signalled, or transmitted to many people, through radio waves or electronic means.
- 3Relating to transmissions of messages or signals to many people through radio waves or electronic means.
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *bʰer-der.? Proto-Germanic *braidaz Proto-West Germanic *braid Old English brād Middle English brod English broad Proto-Germanic *kas- Proto-Germanic *kastōną Old Norse kastabor. Middle English casten English cast English broadcast From broad + cast. First attested in the mid 18th century, in the agricultural use of spreading seeds.
Synonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: bbroadcast,boradcast,braodcast,broacdast,broadacst,broadcasst,broadcastt,broadcats,broadccast,broadcsat,broaddcast,brodacast,brroadcast,rboadcast
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of broadcast - 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.
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 "broadcast"?
What does "broadcast" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "broadcast"?
How do you pronounce "broadcast"?
What is the origin of the word "broadcast"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “broadcast”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is B-R-O-A-D-C-A-S-T - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈbɹɔːdkɑːst/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “broadest” - see the side-by-side comparison. broadcast vs broadest
- 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.