bumblebee
/ˈbʌmbəlˌbiː/
"bumblebee" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“bumblebee” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #31,889 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #31,889
- frequency rank, English
- 9
- letters
- 13
- tracked misspellings
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Any of several species of large bee in the genus Bombus.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | bumblebee |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈbʌmbəlˌbiː/ |
| Letters | 9 |
| Frequency rank | #31,889 |
| Misspellings tracked | 13 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “bumblebee” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for bumblebee is 9 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈbʌmbəlˌbiː/. Corpus data places it at rank #31,889 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 13 likely wrong-spelling variants for bumblebee, with forms such as "bbumblebee", "bmublebee", and "bubmlebee". 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. Our dataset records no confusable match here, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.
Etymologically, the entry records: 1520s from bumble + bee, replacing Middle English humbul-be. Merged with Middle English bombeln (“to boom, buzz”), in the late 14th century. The name of the drink is a semantic loan from Ukrainian джміль (džmilʹ). The correct English form is bumblebee, spelled B-U-M-B-L-E-B-E-E.
Definition
- 1Any of several species of large bee in the genus Bombus.
- 2A mid yellow, sometimes slightly orange.
- 3A layered drink with ice whose main ingredients are orange juice and espresso coffee.
Etymology
1520s from bumble + bee, replacing Middle English humbul-be. Merged with Middle English bombeln (“to boom, buzz”), in the late 14th century. The name of the drink is a semantic loan from Ukrainian джміль (džmilʹ).
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: bbumblebee,bmublebee,bubmlebee,bumbblebee,bumbelbee,bumblbeee,bumblebbee,bumblebe,bumbleebe,bumbllebee,bumlbebee,bummblebee,ubmblebee
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of bumblebee - 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
How do you spell "bumblebee"?
What does "bumblebee" mean?
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Using “bumblebee”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is B-U-M-B-L-E-B-E-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈbʌmbəlˌbiː/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- 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.