bully

/ˈbʊli/

//ˈbʊli// noun

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

"bully" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“bully” has 6 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #8,644. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#8,644
frequency rank, English
4,121
“B” headwords
6
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A person who is intentionally physically or emotionally cruel to others, especially to those whom they perceive as being vulnerable or of less power or privilege.

Corpus desk

Index EN-bully · bully · English

bully · rank #8,644 · 6 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #8,644
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 6 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,121
  • PHOTO-FINISH Boris

Nearest frequency peer: Boris (-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 “bully”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “bully” 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).

bully vs buy
60% similar
bully vs busy
60% similar
bully vs bury
60% similar

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

Key facts for bully
PropertyValue
Headwordbully
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈbʊli/
Letters5
Frequency rank#8,644
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “bully”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).bullylands 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 “Boris” (#8,643), “burke” (#8,645), “blades” (#8,642). Among 4,121 “B” headwords, “bully” is #8,644. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 6 spelling variants around bully (IPA /ˈbʊli/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #8,644 among 4,121 “B” headwords. Wiktionary lists 13 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for bully, with forms such as "bbully", "bluly", and "bullyy". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "buy", "busy", "bury", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From 1530, as a term of endearment, probably a diminutive ( + -y) of Dutch boel (“lover; brother”), from Middle Dutch boel, boele (“brother; lover”), from Old Dutch *buolo, from Proto-Germanic *bōlô (compare Middle Low German bôle (“brother”), Middle High G… The correct English form is bully, spelled B-U-L-L-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    A person who is intentionally physically or emotionally cruel to others, especially to those whom they perceive as being vulnerable or of less power or privilege.
  2. 2
    A noisy, blustering, tyrannical person, more insolent than courageous; one who is threatening and quarrelsome.
  3. 3
    A hired thug.
  4. 4
    A sex worker's minder.
  5. 5
    Bully beef.
  6. 6
    A brisk, dashing fellow.
  7. 7
    The small scrum in the Eton College field game.
  8. 8
    Any of various small freshwater or brackishwater fish of the family Eleotridae; sleeper gobies.
  9. 9
    An (eldest) brother; a fellow workman; comrade
  10. 10
    A companion; mate (male or female).
  11. 11
    A darling, sweetheart (male or female).
  12. 12
    A standoff between two players from the opposing teams, who repeatedly hit each other's hockey sticks and then attempt to acquire the ball, as a method of resuming the game in certain circumstances.
  13. 13
    A miner's hammer.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. A playground bully pushed a girl off the swing.
  2. I noticed you being a bully towards people with disabilities.

Etymology

From 1530, as a term of endearment, probably a diminutive ( + -y) of Dutch boel (“lover; brother”), from Middle Dutch boel, boele (“brother; lover”), from Old Dutch *buolo, from Proto-Germanic *bōlô (compare Middle Low German bôle (“brother”), Middle High German buole (“brother; close relative; close relation”) (whence German Buhle (“lover”)), Old English Bōla, Bōlla (personal name), diminutive of expressive *bō- (“brother, father”). Compare also Latvian bālinš (“brother”). More at boy. The term acquired a negative connotation during the 17th century; first ‘noisy, blustering fellow’ then ‘a person who is cruel to others’. Possibly influenced by bull (“male cattle”) or via the ‘prostitute's minder’ sense. The positive senses are dated, but survive in phrases such as bully pulpit.

This word in other languages

bravucón(Español)brimeur(Français)Rabauke(Deutsch)rufião(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • bbully
  • bluly
  • bullyy
  • buly
  • bulyl
  • ublly

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

bbully1bluly2bullyy1buly1bulyl2ublly2
Edit distance from "bully"

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 "bully"?
"bully" is spelled B-U-L-L-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈbʊli/.
What does "bully" mean?
As a noun, "bully" means: A person who is intentionally physically or emotionally cruel to others, especially to those whom they perceive as being vulnerable or of less power or privilege.
What words are commonly confused with "bully"?
"bully" is commonly confused with "buy", "busy", "bury". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "bully"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "bully" is /ˈbʊli/. 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 "bully"?
From 1530, as a term of endearment, probably a diminutive ( + -y) of Dutch boel (“lover; brother”), from Middle Dutch boel, boele (“brother; lover”), from Old Dutch *buolo, from Proto-Germanic *bōlô (compare Middle Low German bôle (“brother”), Mid... 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 "bully", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Boris#8,643burke#8,645alley#8,634Yemen#8,631

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (6 here; floor ≥5).

bids6 variantsbeth6 variantscunt6 variantsteddy6 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list