burrito

/bəˈɹiː.təʊ/

//bəˈɹiː.təʊ// noun

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

The verdict

“burrito” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #20,577 in English word frequency and used as a noun.

#20,577
frequency rank, English
7
letters
8
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A Mexican dish consisting of a flour tortilla wrapped around a filling of meat and/or beans, cheese etc.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

burrito vs barrio
71% similar

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

Key facts for burrito
PropertyValue
Headwordburrito
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/bəˈɹiː.təʊ/
Letters7
Frequency rank#20,577
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “burrito” sits in English frequency

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

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for burrito is 7 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /bəˈɹiː.təʊ/. Corpus data places it at rank #20,577 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "A Mexican dish consisting of a flour tortilla wrapped around a filling of meat and/or beans, cheese etc.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for burrito, with forms such as "bburrito", "brurito", and "burirto". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "barrio", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Spanish burrito, diminutive of burro (“donkey”), from burrico (“donkey”), from Latin burricus (“small horse”), from burrus (“red-brown”), from Ancient Greek πυρρός (purrhós, “flame-colored”), from πῦρ (pûr, “fire”). The food is so called becau… The correct English form is burrito, spelled B-U-R-R-I-T-O.

Definition

  1. 1
    A Mexican dish consisting of a flour tortilla wrapped around a filling of meat and/or beans, cheese etc.

Etymology

Borrowed from Spanish burrito, diminutive of burro (“donkey”), from burrico (“donkey”), from Latin burricus (“small horse”), from burrus (“red-brown”), from Ancient Greek πυρρός (purrhós, “flame-colored”), from πῦρ (pûr, “fire”). The food is so called because of its resemblance to a rolled up pack as typically carried by donkeys, making it an example of synecdoche.

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: bburrito,brurito,burirto,burito,burriot,burritto,burrtio,ubrrito

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of burrito - 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.

bburrito1brurito2burirto2burito1burriot2burritto1burrtio2ubrrito2
Edit distance from "burrito"

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 "burrito"?
"burrito" is spelled B-U-R-R-I-T-O. The IPA pronunciation is /bəˈɹiː.təʊ/.
What does "burrito" mean?
As a noun, "burrito" means: A Mexican dish consisting of a flour tortilla wrapped around a filling of meat and/or beans, cheese etc.
What words are commonly confused with "burrito"?
"burrito" is commonly confused with "barrio". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "burrito"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "burrito" is /bəˈɹiː.təʊ/. 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 "burrito"?
Borrowed from Spanish burrito, diminutive of burro (“donkey”), from burrico (“donkey”), from Latin burricus (“small horse”), from burrus (“red-brown”), from Ancient Greek πυρρός (purrhós, “flame-colored”), from πῦρ (pûr, “fire”). The food is so ca... 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.

Using “burrito”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is B-U-R-R-I-T-O - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /bəˈɹiː.təʊ/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “barrio” - see the side-by-side comparison. burrito vs barrio
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list