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PlainSpell

burr

/bɝ/noun, verb

burr is spelled B-U-R-R: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears 2.3 times per million words in written English, the 18,064th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). People search “bur vs burr” about 260 times a month (Google, United States). As a noun, burr means “A sharp, pointy object, such as a sliver or splinter” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of burr is burrs.

How many letters and syllables are in burr?

Letters4: B-U-R-R
Syllables1 (from its American pronunciation)
In writing2.3 times per million words; the 18,064th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search
Pairs people search
Sounds like
Rhymes with

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); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.

How common is burr?

Burr appears 2.3 times per million words in written English, the 18,064th 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 burr?

  • US /bɝ/
  • UK /bɜː/
  • /bʌr/

Burr has one syllable (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)-Wodencafe-bur.wav, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-bur.wav, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-burr.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Words people confuse with burr

Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).

bur vs burr260 G

Sounds like: birr, bur (Wiktionary's homophone list; some hold only in some accents).

Also written: bur, burl.

Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).

What rhymes with burr?

The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as burr from its last stressed vowel (/ɜɹ/):

Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).

Forms of burr

  • burrs plural, present, singular, he/she/it
  • burring participle, present
  • burred participle, past

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does burr mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

noun

  1. 1

    A sharp, pointy object, such as a sliver or splinter.

  2. 2

    Alternative form of bur (“rough, prickly husk around the seeds or fruit of some plants”).

  3. 3

    A small piece of material left on an edge after a cutting operation.

    You left a bunch of burrs on those parts yesterday. You've already been told not to miss the deburring operation.

  4. 4

    A thin flat piece of metal, formed from a sheet by punching; a small washer put on the end of a rivet before it is swaged down.

  5. 5

    A broad iron ring on a tilting lance just below the grip, to prevent the hand from slipping.

  6. 6

    A metal ring at the top of the hand-rest on a spear.

  7. 7

    The ear lobe.

  8. 8

    A burr knot or burl.

  9. 9

    A rough humming sound.

  10. 10

    A uvular "r" sound, or (by extension) an accent characterized by this sound.

  11. 11

    Synonym of brough (“halo around the sun or moon”)

  12. 12

    UKAlternative spelling of burl.

verb

  1. 1

    To grind using a burr (revolving disk or cone with abrasive surfaces).

  2. 2

    To pronounce with a uvular "r".

  3. 3

    To make a rough humming sound.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Burr in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchécharde (sliver or splinter), bardane (seed pod with sharp features), barbe (material left on an edge after cutting), grasseyement (pronunciation of "r"), grasseyer (to pronounce "r")
GermanSplitter (sliver or splinter), Klette (seed pod with sharp features), Grat (material left on an edge after cutting), Mahlscheibe, Mahlstein, Mahlwerk (revolving disk or cone with abrasive surfaces)
Spanishastilla, limadura, esquirla (sliver or splinter), cadillo (seed pod with sharp features), rebaba, filván (material left on an edge after cutting)
Portugueseouriço, carrapicho (seed pod with sharp features), rebarba (material left on an edge after cutting), rotacismo (pronunciation of "r")

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 burr come from?

From Middle English burre, perhaps related to Old English byrst (“bristle”). Cognate with Danish burre, borre (“burdock, burr”), Swedish borre (“sea-urchin”).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after burr