bullet

/ˈbʊl.ɪt/

//ˈbʊl.ɪt// noun

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

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

The verdict

“bullet” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #4,741. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#4,741
frequency rank, English
4,121
“B” headwords
7
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A projectile, usually of metal, shot from a gun at high speed.

Corpus desk

Index EN-bullet · bullet · English

bullet · rank #4,741 · 7 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #4,741
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 7 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,121
  • PHOTO-FINISH bitcoin

Nearest frequency peer: bitcoin (-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 “bullet”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “bullet” 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).

bullet vs bulls
67% similar
bullet vs bully
67% similar
bullet vs butler
67% similar

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

Key facts for bullet
PropertyValue
Headwordbullet
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈbʊl.ɪt/
Letters6
Frequency rank#4,741
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “bullet”

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).bulletlands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “bitcoin” (#4,740), “burns” (#4,742), “beneath” (#4,739). Among 4,121 “B” headwords, “bullet” is #4,741. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 7 spelling variants around bullet (IPA /ˈbʊl.ɪt/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #4,741 among 4,121 “B” headwords. Wiktionary lists 20 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for bullet, with forms such as "bbullet", "blulet", and "bulelt". 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 20 confusable-pair relationships, "bulls", "bully", "butler", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English bullet (“an official tag or badge of registration or identification”), from Old French bullete, diminutive of boule (“ball”). Later influenced by Middle French boulette and French boulet. The correct English form is bullet, spelled B-U-L-L-E-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    A projectile, usually of metal, shot from a gun at high speed.
  2. 2
    An entire round of unfired ammunition for a firearm, including the projectile, the cartridge casing, the propellant charge, etc.
  3. 3
    Ammunition for a sling or slingshot which has been manufactured for such use.
  4. 4
    A printed symbol in the form of a solid circle ⟨•⟩, often used to mark items in a list.
  5. 5
    A large scheduled repayment of the principal of a loan; a balloon payment.
  6. 6
    A rejection letter, as for employment, admission to a school or a competition.
  7. 7
    One year of prison time.
  8. 8
    An ace (the playing card).
  9. 9
    Anything that is projected extremely fast.
  10. 10
    Very fast (speedy).
  11. 11
    Ellipsis of bullet chess.
  12. 12
    A plumb or sinker.
  13. 13
    The heavy projectile thrown in a game of road bowling.
  14. 14
    A roughly bullet-shaped sweet consisting of a cylinder of liquorice covered in chocolate.
  15. 15
    A small ball.
  16. 16
    A cannonball.
  17. 17
    The fetlock of a horse.
  18. 18
    The best workout time at a track on a given day at a specific distance, traditionally marked by a printer's bullet.
  19. 19
    A notation used on pop music charts to indicate that a song is climbing in the rankings.
  20. 20
    Ellipsis of bullet vibrator.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Then when our powers in points of ſwords are ioin’d / And cloſde in compaſſe of the killing bullet, / Though ſtraite the paſſage and the port be made, / That leads to Pallace of my brothers life, / Proud is his fortune if we pierce it not.
  2. John's not going to any of his top schools; he got a bullet from the last of them yesterday.

Etymology

From Middle English bullet (“an official tag or badge of registration or identification”), from Old French bullete, diminutive of boule (“ball”). Later influenced by Middle French boulette and French boulet.

This word in other languages

bala(Español)balle(Français)Kugel(Deutsch)bala(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • bbullet
  • blulet
  • bulelt
  • bulet
  • bullett
  • bullte
  • ubllet

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

bbullet1blulet2bulelt2bulet1bullett1bullte2ubllet2
Edit distance from "bullet"

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 "bullet"?
"bullet" is spelled B-U-L-L-E-T. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈbʊl.ɪt/.
What does "bullet" mean?
As a noun, "bullet" means: A projectile, usually of metal, shot from a gun at high speed.
What words are commonly confused with "bullet"?
"bullet" is commonly confused with "bulls", "bully", "butler". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "bullet"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "bullet" is /ˈbʊl.ɪt/. 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 "bullet"?
From Middle English bullet (“an official tag or badge of registration or identification”), from Old French bullete, diminutive of boule (“ball”). Later influenced by Middle French boulette and French boulet. 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 "bullet", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

Albert#4,735divine#4,754wheels#4,728export#4,758

Similar misspelling depth

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

wages7 variantssuits7 variantshabit7 variantsreads7 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list