bugbear
/ˈbʌɡ.bɛə(ɹ)/
"bugbear" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“bugbear” is an uncommon English word, ranked #76,605 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #76,605
- frequency rank, English
- 7
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - An ongoing problem; a recurring obstacle or adversity.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | bugbear |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈbʌɡ.bɛə(ɹ)/ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Frequency rank | #76,605 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “bugbear” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for bugbear is 7 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈbʌɡ.bɛə(ɹ)/. Corpus data places it at rank #76,605 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
No misspelling variants are generated for bugbear in our index, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. Our dataset records no confusable match here, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.
Etymologically, the entry records: From obsolete meaning of bug (“something terrifying”) + bear. See Middle English bugge, modern bogey. The correct English form is bugbear, spelled B-U-G-B-E-A-R.
Definition
- 1An ongoing problem; a recurring obstacle or adversity.
- 2A source of dread; resentment; or irritation.
- 3A generic creature, often described as a large goblin, meant to inspire fear in children.
Etymology
From obsolete meaning of bug (“something terrifying”) + bear. See Middle English bugge, modern bogey.
This word in other languages
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
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Using “bugbear”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is B-U-G-B-E-A-R - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈbʌɡ.bɛə(ɹ)/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- 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.