brook

/bɹʊk/

//bɹʊk// verb

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

"brook" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“brook” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #10,503. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#10,503
frequency rank, English
4,121
“B” headwords
7
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To bear; endure; support; put up with; tolerate.

Corpus desk

Index EN-brook · brook · English

brook · rank #10,503 · 7 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #10,503
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 7 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,121
  • PHOTO-FINISH briefing

Nearest frequency peer: briefing (-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 “brook”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “brook” 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).

brook vs bros
60% similar
brook vs brow
60% similar
brook vs brown
60% similar

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

Key facts for brook
PropertyValue
Headwordbrook
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/bɹʊk/
Letters5
Frequency rank#10,503
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “brook”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).brooklands 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 “briefing” (#10,502), “budgets” (#10,504), “boxer” (#10,501). Among 4,121 “B” headwords, “brook” is #10,503. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 7 spelling variants around brook (IPA /bɹʊk/), averb. Corpus frequency is #10,503 among 4,121 “B” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for brook, with forms such as "bbrook", "borok", and "brok". 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, "bros", "brow", "brown", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English brouken (“to use, enjoy”), from Old English brūcan (“to enjoy, brook, use, possess, partake of, spend”), from Proto-West Germanic *brūkan, from Proto-Germanic *brūkaną (“to enjoy, use”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰruHg- (“to enjoy”). Co… The correct English form is brook, spelled B-R-O-O-K.

Definition

  1. 1
    To bear; endure; support; put up with; tolerate.
  2. 2
    To enjoy the use of; make use of; profit by; to use, enjoy, possess, or hold.
  3. 3
    To earn; deserve.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. brook no refusal
  2. I will not brook any disobedience.

Etymology

From Middle English brouken (“to use, enjoy”), from Old English brūcan (“to enjoy, brook, use, possess, partake of, spend”), from Proto-West Germanic *brūkan, from Proto-Germanic *brūkaną (“to enjoy, use”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰruHg- (“to enjoy”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian bruke (“to need”), Dutch bruiken (“to use”), German Low German bruken (“to need”), German brauchen (“to need”), Swedish bruka (“to use”), Icelandic brúka (“to use”).

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • bbrook
  • borok
  • brok
  • broko
  • brookk
  • brrook
  • rbook

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

bbrook1borok2brok1broko2brookk1brrook1rbook2
Edit distance from "brook"

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 "brook"?
"brook" is spelled B-R-O-O-K. The IPA pronunciation is /bɹʊk/.
What does "brook" mean?
As a verb, "brook" means: To bear; endure; support; put up with; tolerate.
What words are commonly confused with "brook"?
"brook" is commonly confused with "bros", "brow", "brown". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "brook"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "brook" is /bɹʊk/. 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 "brook"?
From Middle English brouken (“to use, enjoy”), from Old English brūcan (“to enjoy, brook, use, possess, partake of, spend”), from Proto-West Germanic *brūkan, from Proto-Germanic *brūkaną (“to enjoy, use”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰruHg- (“to e... 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 "brook", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

boxer#10,501belts#10,499Bella#10,498coats#10,512

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (7 here; floor ≥5).

Doyle7 variantsvivid7 variantstossed7 variantsGavin7 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list