bruise

/bɹuːz/

//bɹuːz// verb

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

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

The verdict

“bruise” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #22,909. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#22,909
frequency rank, English
4,121
“B” headwords
7
tracked misspellings
19
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To strike (a person), originally with something flat or heavy, but now specifically in such a way as to discolour the skin without breaking it; to contuse.

Corpus desk

Index EN-bruise · bruise · English

bruise · rank #22,909 · 7 variants · 19 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #22,909
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 19 pairs
  • VAR-MID 7 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,121
  • PHOTO-FINISH Britt

Nearest frequency peer: Britt (-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 “bruise”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “bruise” 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).

bruise vs brush
67% similar
bruise vs brute
67% similar
bruise vs bruises
86% similar

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

Key facts for bruise
PropertyValue
Headwordbruise
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/bɹuːz/
Letters6
Frequency rank#22,909
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs19
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “bruise”

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).bruiselands here:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “Britt” (#22,908), “bruising” (#22,910), “Britannia” (#22,907). Among 4,121 “B” headwords, “bruise” is #22,909. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 7 spelling variants around bruise (IPA /bɹuːz/), averb. Corpus frequency is #22,909 among 4,121 “B” headwords. Wiktionary lists 7 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for bruise, with forms such as "bbruise", "briuse", and "brruise". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 19 confusable-pair relationships, "brush", "brute", "bruises", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English bruisen, brusen, brosen, brisen, bresen, from a merger two words, both ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰrews- (“to break”): * Old English brȳsan, brīesan (“to bruise; crush”), from Proto-Germanic *brausijaną, *brūsijaną (“to break;… The correct English form is bruise, spelled B-R-U-I-S-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    To strike (a person), originally with something flat or heavy, but now specifically in such a way as to discolour the skin without breaking it; to contuse.
  2. 2
    To damage the skin of (fruit or vegetables), in an analogous way.
  3. 3
    Of fruit or vegetables, to gain bruises through being handled roughly.
  4. 4
    To become bruised.
  5. 5
    To fight with the fists; to box.
  6. 6
    To harm or injure somebody's feelings or self-esteem.
  7. 7
    To impair (gin) by shaking rather than stirring.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. It is as I have spoken: the testing first, next the bruising, and in the last bout the breaking and killing.
  2. Bananas bruise easily.

Etymology

From Middle English bruisen, brusen, brosen, brisen, bresen, from a merger two words, both ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰrews- (“to break”): * Old English brȳsan, brīesan (“to bruise; crush”), from Proto-Germanic *brausijaną, *brūsijaną (“to break; crumble; crack”). Provided the word's sense. * Anglo-Norman bruiser, bruser (“to break, smash, shatter”), from Gaulish *brus-, from Proto-Celtic *bruseti (“to break”). Provided the word's form. Cognate with Scots brizz, German brausen (“to roar; boom; pound”), Old English brosnian (“to crumble, fall apart”), Dutch broos (“brittle”), German Brosame (“crumb”), dialectal Norwegian brøysk (“breakable”), Latin frustum (“bit, scrap”), Old Church Slavonic бръснути (brŭsnuti, “to rake”), Albanian breshër (“hail”).

This word in other languages

magullar(Español)contusionner(Français)magoar(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • bbruise
  • briuse
  • brruise
  • bruies
  • brusie
  • burise
  • rbuise

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

bbruise1briuse2brruise1bruies2brusie2burise2rbuise2
Edit distance from "bruise"

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 "bruise"?
"bruise" is spelled B-R-U-I-S-E. The IPA pronunciation is /bɹuːz/.
What does "bruise" mean?
As a verb, "bruise" means: To strike (a person), originally with something flat or heavy, but now specifically in such a way as to discolour the skin without breaking it; to contuse.
What words are commonly confused with "bruise"?
"bruise" is commonly confused with "brush", "brute", "bruises". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "bruise"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "bruise" is /bɹuːz/. 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 "bruise"?
From Middle English bruisen, brusen, brosen, brisen, bresen, from a merger two words, both ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰrews- (“to break”): * Old English brȳsan, brīesan (“to bruise; crush”), from Proto-Germanic *brausijaną, *brūsijaną (... 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 "bruise", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

Cahill#22,919Basque#22,898castor#22,921Bangor#22,896

Similar misspelling depth

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

bigot7 variantsbagged7 variantsbagel7 variantsAsher7 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list