bum

/bʌm/

//bʌm// noun

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

"bum" is a 3-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“bum” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #10,339) as a noun. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#10,339
frequency rank, English
4,121
“B” headwords
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The buttocks.

Corpus desk

Index EN-bum · bum · English

bum · rank #10,339 · 0 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #10,339
  • LEN-MID 3 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,121
  • PHOTO-FINISH Bradford

Nearest frequency peer: Bradford (-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.

Frequency neighbours of confusable “bum”

Peers at similar corpus weight, separate from look-alike pairs below

corpus weight

What this shows Bars place “bum” against nearest ranked English headwords, not a reprint of the confusable-pair desk.

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).

bum vs by
33% similar
bum vs BW
0% similar
bum vs BX
0% similar

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

Key facts for bum
PropertyValue
Headwordbum
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/bʌm/
Letters3
Frequency rank#10,339
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Corpus rank beside confusables of “bum”

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).bumlands 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 “Bradford” (#10,338), “butcher” (#10,340), “bowls” (#10,337). Among 4,121 “B” headwords, “bum” is #10,339. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for bum is neighbouring look-alikes ("by", "BW", …), not just typos; it is anoun pronounced /bʌm/. Frequency #10,339 among 4,121 “B” headwords. 3 recorded senses keep meaning in play.

bum doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "by", "BW", "BX", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: Attested since the 1300s, as Middle English bom (found in John Trevisa's 1387 Translation of the 'Polychronicon' of Ranulph Higden, "his bom is oute"), of uncertain origin. Sometimes suggested to be a shortening of botme, botom, bottum (“bottom”), but this … The correct English form is bum, spelled B-U-M.

Definition

  1. 1
    The buttocks.
  2. 2
    The anus.
  3. 3
    An act of anal sex.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Okay, everyone sit on your bum and try and touch your toes.
  2. For quotations using this term, see Citations:bum.

Etymology

Attested since the 1300s, as Middle English bom (found in John Trevisa's 1387 Translation of the 'Polychronicon' of Ranulph Higden, "his bom is oute"), of uncertain origin. Sometimes suggested to be a shortening of botme, botom, bottum (“bottom”), but this is contradicted by the fact that bottom is not attested in reference to the buttocks until the late 1700s. Suggested by some old and modern references to be onomatopoeic. Compare also Old Irish, Scottish Gaelic bun (“base, bottom”).

This word in other languages

ano(Español)cul(Français)Hintern(Deutsch)cu(Português)

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 "bum"?
"bum" is spelled B-U-M. The IPA pronunciation is /bʌm/.
What does "bum" mean?
As a noun, "bum" means: The buttocks.
What words are commonly confused with "bum"?
"bum" is commonly confused with "by", "BW", "BX". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "bum"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "bum" is /bʌm/. 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 "bum"?
Attested since the 1300s, as Middle English bom (found in John Trevisa's 1387 Translation of the 'Polychronicon' of Ranulph Higden, "his bom is oute"), of uncertain origin. Sometimes suggested to be a shortening of botme, botom, bottum (“bottom”),... 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 "bum", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 3 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

cue#10,351ark#10,324FCC#10,364VIP#10,311

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list