bullion

/ˈbʊl.jən/

//ˈbʊl.jən// noun

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

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

The verdict

“bullion” has 8 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #22,913. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#22,913
frequency rank, English
4,121
“B” headwords
8
tracked misspellings
9
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A bulk quantity of precious metal, usually gold or silver, assessed by weight and typically cast as ingots.

Corpus desk

Index EN-bullion · bullion · English

bullion · rank #22,913 · 8 variants · 9 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #22,913
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 9 pairs
  • VAR-MID 8 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,121
  • PHOTO-FINISH Buffett

Nearest frequency peer: Buffett (-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 “bullion”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “bullion” 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).

bullion vs bullpen
71% similar
bullion vs bullish
71% similar
bullion vs ballon
71% similar

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

Key facts for bullion
PropertyValue
Headwordbullion
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈbʊl.jən/
Letters7
Frequency rank#22,913
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs9
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “bullion”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).bullionlands 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 “Buffett” (#22,912), “bumpy” (#22,914), “Bucharest” (#22,911). Among 4,121 “B” headwords, “bullion” is #22,913. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 8 spelling variants around bullion (IPA /ˈbʊl.jən/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #22,913 among 4,121 “B” headwords. Wiktionary lists 5 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for bullion, with forms such as "bbullion", "blulion", and "bulilon". 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 9 confusable-pair relationships, "bullpen", "bullish", "ballon", 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 bulloin, bullioun, from Anglo-Norman bullion, of obscure origin, perhaps from French bouillon, extending the sense to that of ‘melting’. Middle Dutch boelioen (“base metal”) seems to have come from the unrelated French billon. The correct English form is bullion, spelled B-U-L-L-I-O-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    A bulk quantity of precious metal, usually gold or silver, assessed by weight and typically cast as ingots.
  2. 2
    Base or uncurrent coin.
  3. 3
    Showy metallic ornament, as of gold, silver, or copper, on bridles, saddles, etc.
  4. 4
    A heavy twisted fringe, made of fine gold or silver wire and used for epaulets; also, any heavy twisted fringe whose cords are prominent.
  5. 5
    The mark left on a glass piece from its attachment to a punty.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. If the mint kept back one per cent, to pay the expense of coinage, it would be against the interest of the holders of bullion to have it coined, until the coin was more valuable than the bullion by at least that fraction.
  2. And those which eld's strict doom did disallow, / And damn for bullion, go for current now.

Etymology

From Middle English bulloin, bullioun, from Anglo-Norman bullion, of obscure origin, perhaps from French bouillon, extending the sense to that of ‘melting’. Middle Dutch boelioen (“base metal”) seems to have come from the unrelated French billon.

This word in other languages

tejo(Español)lingot(Français)Barren(Deutsch)barra(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • bbullion
  • blulion
  • bulilon
  • bulion
  • bullino
  • bullionn
  • bulloin
  • ubllion

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

bbullion1blulion2bulilon2bulion1bullino2bullionn1bulloin2ubllion2
Edit distance from "bullion"

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 "bullion"?
"bullion" is spelled B-U-L-L-I-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈbʊl.jən/.
What does "bullion" mean?
As a noun, "bullion" means: A bulk quantity of precious metal, usually gold or silver, assessed by weight and typically cast as ingots.
What words are commonly confused with "bullion"?
"bullion" is commonly confused with "bullpen", "bullish", "ballon". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "bullion"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "bullion" is /ˈbʊl.jən/. 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 "bullion"?
From Middle English bulloin, bullioun, from Anglo-Norman bullion, of obscure origin, perhaps from French bouillon, extending the sense to that of ‘melting’. Middle Dutch boelioen (“base metal”) seems to have come from the unrelated French billon. 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 "bullion", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

Buffett#22,912Burnham#22,917Bavaria#22,899clocked#22,930

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (8 here; floor ≥5).

bumpy8 variantscastor8 variantsCicero8 variantsBasque8 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list