bullion
/ˈbʊl.jən/
"bullion" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“bullion” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #22,913 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #22,913
- frequency rank, English
- 7
- letters
- 8
- tracked misspellings
- 9
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A bulk quantity of precious metal, usually gold or silver, assessed by weight and typically cast as ingots.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | bullion |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈbʊl.jən/ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Frequency rank | #22,913 |
| Misspellings tracked | 8 |
| Confusable pairs | 9 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “bullion” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for bullion is 7 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈbʊl.jən/. Corpus data places it at rank #22,913 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 5 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
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
- 1A bulk quantity of precious metal, usually gold or silver, assessed by weight and typically cast as ingots.
- 2Base or uncurrent coin.
- 3Showy metallic ornament, as of gold, silver, or copper, on bridles, saddles, etc.
- 4A heavy twisted fringe, made of fine gold or silver wire and used for epaulets; also, any heavy twisted fringe whose cords are prominent.
- 5The mark left on a glass piece from its attachment to a punty.
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
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.
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 “bullion”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is B-U-L-L-I-O-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈbʊl.jən/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “bullpen” - see the side-by-side comparison. bullion vs bullpen
- 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.