burglar

/ˈbɜːɡlə(ɹ)/

//ˈbɜːɡlə(ɹ)// noun

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

"burglar" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“burglar” has 11 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #18,510. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#18,510
frequency rank, English
4,121
“B” headwords
11
tracked misspellings
3
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A person who breaks in to premises with the intent of committing theft.

Corpus desk

Index EN-burglar · burglar · English

burglar · rank #18,510 · 11 variants · 3 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #18,510
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 3 pairs
  • VAR-MID 11 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,121
  • PHOTO-FINISH bungalow

Nearest frequency peer: bungalow (-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 “burglar”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “burglar” 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).

burglar vs burlap
71% similar
burglar vs burglary
88% similar
burglar vs burger
71% similar

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

Key facts for burglar
PropertyValue
Headwordburglar
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈbɜːɡlə(ɹ)/
Letters7
Frequency rank#18,510
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs3
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “burglar”

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).burglarlands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “bungalow” (#18,509), “calibration” (#18,511), “brows” (#18,508). Among 4,121 “B” headwords, “burglar” is #18,510. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 11 spelling variants around burglar (IPA /ˈbɜːɡlə(ɹ)/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #18,510 among 4,121 “B” headwords. Dominant gloss: "A person who breaks in to premises with the intent of committing theft.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for burglar, with forms such as "bburglar", "bruglar", and "bugrlar". 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. It also participates in 3 confusable-pair relationships, "burlap", "burglary", "burger", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: 16th century, from Medieval Latin burglātor, British byform of burgātor (“burglar”), derived from burgō (“to commit burglary”), from Late Latin burgus (“fortified town”), itself probably from Frankish *burg (“fortress”), from Proto-Germanic *burgz, *burgiją… The correct English form is burglar, spelled B-U-R-G-L-A-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    A person who breaks in to premises with the intent of committing theft.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. The burglar made off with a large diamond from the museum.
  2. In the village itself his lionheartedness had been a legend ever since he had brained a burglar with a number seven iron, and the jury in Guildford had, despite the clear direction of the judge, resolutely declined to convict him for the use of unnecessary force.

Etymology

16th century, from Medieval Latin burglātor, British byform of burgātor (“burglar”), derived from burgō (“to commit burglary”), from Late Latin burgus (“fortified town”), itself probably from Frankish *burg (“fortress”), from Proto-Germanic *burgz, *burgiją (“borough, watch-tower”). The -l- in burglātor may have been inserted under influence from Latin latro (“thief”). The shortened English form may have arisen through confluence with Old French burgeor (“burglar”), itself from the same Latin source.

Synonyms

burglarizerhousebreakerburglarcracksmandrawlatchsneck lifter

This word in other languages

ladrón(Español)cambrioleur(Français)Einbrecher(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • bburglar
  • bruglar
  • bugrlar
  • burgalr
  • burgglar
  • burglarr
  • burgllar
  • burglra
  • burlgar
  • burrglar
  • ubrglar

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of burglar - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

bburglar1bruglar2bugrlar2burgalr2burgglar1burglarr1burgllar1burglra2
Edit distance from "burglar"

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 "burglar"?
"burglar" is spelled B-U-R-G-L-A-R. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈbɜːɡlə(ɹ)/.
What does "burglar" mean?
As a noun, "burglar" means: A person who breaks in to premises with the intent of committing theft.
What words are commonly confused with "burglar"?
"burglar" is commonly confused with "burlap", "burglary", "burger". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "burglar"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "burglar" is /ˈbɜːɡlə(ɹ)/. 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 "burglar"?
16th century, from Medieval Latin burglātor, British byform of burgātor (“burglar”), derived from burgō (“to commit burglary”), from Late Latin burgus (“fortified town”), itself probably from Frankish *burg (“fortress”), from Proto-Germanic *burgz... 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 "burglar", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

blooded#18,501Cornish#18,523coveted#18,525bearded#18,492

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (11 here; floor ≥5).

blossoms11 variantsarmoured11 variantsangrily11 variantsDickson11 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list