burglar
/ˈbɝɡlɚ/noun, verb
burglar is spelled B-U-R-G-L-A-R. The wrong spelling people search most is burgler: about 150 Bing searches a month in the United States (September 2025 to August 2026), about 2 in 10 of all searches for the word. Burglar is a noun meaning “A person who breaks in to premises with the intent of committing a crime, usually theft”. The plural of burglar is burglars.
How many letters and syllables are in burglar?
| Letters | 7: B-U-R-G-L-A-R |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 2.2 times per million words; the 18,537th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | 1; the most searched, burgler, about 150 Bing searches a month (all of them) |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026).
How do you spell burglar?
Burglar is spelled B-U-R-G-L-A-R. One wrong spelling is searched or written often enough to measure; together they are about 2 in 10 of the searches for burglar in either form.
Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026). Wrong spellings are taken from Wiktionary entries tagged "misspelling" and its obsolete or nonstandard forms, Wikipedia's Lists of common misspellings and the codespell dictionary, then measured. The proofreader's marks show the change that corrects each one.
How common is burglar?
Burglar appears 2.2 times per million words in written English, the 18,537th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce burglar?
- UK /ˈbɜːɡlə(ɹ)/
- US /ˈbɝɡlɚ/
Burglar has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-burglar.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of burglar
- burglars plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- burglaring participle, present
- burglared participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does burglar mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A person who breaks in to premises with the intent of committing a crime, usually theft.
The burglar made off with a large diamond from the museum.
verb
- 1
To commit burglary.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Burglar in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense Translations:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | cambrioleur, cambrioleuse |
| German | Einbrecher, Einbrecherin |
| Portuguese | ladrão |
| Spanish | ladrón |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does burglar come from?
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.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).