bunion
/ˈbʌnjən/
"bunion" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“bunion” is uncommon English (frequency #83,082 among 31,241 “B” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #83,082
- frequency rank, English
- 31,241
- “B” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A bump or bulge on the first joint of the big toe caused by the swelling of a sac of fluid under the skin.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | bunion |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈbʌnjən/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #83,082 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “bunion” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
bunion is uncommon English at frequency #83,082 among 31,241 “B” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈbʌnjən/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
Zero misspellings are on record for bunion in our index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.
Etymologically, the entry records: From alteration of earlier bunny (“lump, swelling”), from Middle English bony, boni (“bunion, swelling”), perhaps Italian bubbone (augmented form of bugno (“beehive”)), or more likely from Lombard bugnon (“bunyon”), all three from Old French bugne, buigne, … The correct English form is bunion, spelled B-U-N-I-O-N.
Definition
- 1A bump or bulge on the first joint of the big toe caused by the swelling of a sac of fluid under the skin.
- 2Hallux valgus, deviation of the big toe from its normal position towards the other toes, the prime cause for the swelling of its first joint.
Etymology
From alteration of earlier bunny (“lump, swelling”), from Middle English bony, boni (“bunion, swelling”), perhaps Italian bubbone (augmented form of bugno (“beehive”)), or more likely from Lombard bugnon (“bunyon”), all three from Old French bugne, buigne, bune (“bump, knob, swelling”), from Old Norse bunga (“an elevation, bulge”) or Frankish *bungjō (“a swelling, lump, bump”), both from Proto-Germanic *bungô, *bunkô (“lump, clump, heap, crowd”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰenǵʰ- (“thick, dense, fat”). Cognate with Dutch bonk (“lump, clump”), German Bunge (“swelling, tuber”).
This word in other languages
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 "bunion"?
What does "bunion" mean?
How do you pronounce "bunion"?
What is the origin of the word "bunion"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “bunion”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is B-U-N-I-O-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈbʌnjən/ (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
Other uncommon English words near this rank
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.