bunion

/ˈbʌnjən/

//ˈbʌnjən// noun

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

"bunion" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“bunion” is uncommon English (frequency #83,082 among 4,121 “B” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#83,082
frequency rank, English
4,121
“B” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 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.

Corpus desk

Index EN-bunion · bunion · English

bunion · rank #83,082 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #83,082
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,121
  • PHOTO-FINISH Bukhara

Nearest frequency peer: Bukhara (-2 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.

Long-tail ranks near “bunion”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “bunion” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for bunion
PropertyValue
Headwordbunion
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈbʌnjən/
Letters6
Frequency rank#83,082
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “bunion” in English

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).bunionfalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Rare peers in the same band: “Bukhara” (#83,080), “Burling” (#83,084), “Buganda” (#83,079). Among 4,121 “B” headwords, “bunion” is #83,082. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

bunion is uncommon English at frequency #83,082 among 4,121 “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

  1. 1
    A bump or bulge on the first joint of the big toe caused by the swelling of a sac of fluid under the skin.
  2. 2
    Hallux 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

juanete(Español)oignon(Français)

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"?
"bunion" is spelled B-U-N-I-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈbʌnjən/.
What does "bunion" mean?
As a noun, "bunion" means: A bump or bulge on the first joint of the big toe caused by the swelling of a sac of fluid under the skin.
How do you pronounce "bunion"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "bunion" is /ˈbʌnjən/. 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 "bunion"?
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... 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 "bunion", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

cloche#83,121comber#83,128comity#83,132balrog#83,030

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list