bulldog

/ˈbʊl.dɒɡ/

//ˈbʊl.dɒɡ// noun

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

"bulldog" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“bulldog” has 9 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #17,562. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#17,562
frequency rank, English
4,121
“B” headwords
9
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A breed of dog developed in England by the crossing of the bullbaiting dog and the Pug to produce a ladies' companion dog, having a very smooth coat, a flattened face, wrinkly cheeks, powerful fron...

Corpus desk

Index EN-bulldog · bulldog · English

bulldog · rank #17,562 · 9 variants · 1 confusable

  • FREQ-MID #17,562
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
  • VAR-MID 9 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,121
  • PHOTO-FINISH caterpillar

Nearest frequency peer: caterpillar (+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 “bulldog”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “bulldog” 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).

bulldog vs bullion
71% similar

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

Key facts for bulldog
PropertyValue
Headwordbulldog
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈbʊl.dɒɡ/
Letters7
Frequency rank#17,562
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “bulldog”

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).bulldoglands 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 “caterpillar” (#17,563), “botany” (#17,560), “censored” (#17,564). Among 4,121 “B” headwords, “bulldog” is #17,562. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 9 spelling variants around bulldog (IPA /ˈbʊl.dɒɡ/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #17,562 among 4,121 “B” headwords. Wiktionary lists 9 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for bulldog, with forms such as "bbulldog", "bluldog", and "buldlog". 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 1 confusable-pair relationship, "bullion", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From bull + dog, in reference to bullbaiting. The correct English form is bulldog, spelled B-U-L-L-D-O-G.

Definition

  1. 1
    A breed of dog developed in England by the crossing of the bullbaiting dog and the Pug to produce a ladies' companion dog, having a very smooth coat, a flattened face, wrinkly cheeks, powerful front legs, and smaller hind legs.
  2. 2
    A breed of dog developed in England by the crossing of the bullbaiting dog and the Pug to produce a ladies' companion dog, having a very smooth coat, a flattened face, wrinkly cheeks, powerful front legs, and smaller hind legs.
  3. 3
    A stubborn or determined person.
  4. 4
    A refractory material used as a furnace lining, obtained by calcining the cinder or slag from the puddling furnace of a rolling mill.
  5. 5
    One of the proctors' officers.
  6. 6
    Any move in which the wrestler grabs an opponent's head and jumps forward, so that the wrestler lands, often in a sitting position, and drives the opponent's face into the mat.
  7. 7
    A bulldog edition.
  8. 8
    Any of various species of African freshwater fish in the genus Marcusenius, a type of elephantfish.
  9. 9
    The children's game of British Bulldog or Red Rover.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. We need a lawyer who will fight for our case, a real bulldog.
  2. His bulldog determination was destined to bring him the opportunity he was seeking.

Etymology

From bull + dog, in reference to bullbaiting.

Synonyms

English bulldog

This word in other languages

dogo(Español)bouledogue(Français)Bulldogge(Deutsch)buldogue(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • bbulldog
  • bluldog
  • buldlog
  • buldog
  • bullddog
  • bulldgo
  • bulldogg
  • bullodg
  • ublldog

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of bulldog - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

bbulldog1bluldog2buldlog2buldog1bullddog1bulldgo2bulldogg1bullodg2
Edit distance from "bulldog"

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 "bulldog"?
"bulldog" is spelled B-U-L-L-D-O-G. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈbʊl.dɒɡ/.
What does "bulldog" mean?
As a noun, "bulldog" means: A breed of dog developed in England by the crossing of the bullbaiting dog and the Pug to produce a ladies' companion dog, having a very smooth coat, a flattened face, wrinkly cheeks, powerful fron...
What words are commonly confused with "bulldog"?
"bulldog" is commonly confused with "bullion". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "bulldog"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "bulldog" is /ˈbʊl.dɒɡ/. 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 "bulldog"?
From bull + dog, in reference to bullbaiting. 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 "bulldog", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

chatter#17,565cheered#17,566Blanche#17,555Colbert#17,570

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (9 here; floor ≥5).

botany9 variantscleric9 variantscreeps9 variantscutler9 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list