burrow
/ˈbʌɹoʊ/noun, verb
burrow is spelled B-U-R-R-O-W: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 1.3 times per million words in written English, the 25,367th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). People search “borough vs burrow” about 10 times a month (Bing, United States). As a noun, burrow means “A tunnel or hole, or a system of tunnels, often as dug by a small creature for use as a home” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of burrow is burrows.
How many letters and syllables are in burrow?
| Letters | 6: B-U-R-R-O-W |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.3 times per million words; the 25,367th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none 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 burrow?
Burrow appears 1.3 times per million words in written English, the 25,367th 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 burrow?
- UK /ˈbʌɹəʊ/
- US /ˈbʌɹoʊ/
- /ˈbɜɹoʊ/
Burrow 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: En-us-ne-burrow.ogg, En-us-burrow.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with burrow
Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).
Sounds like: borough (Wiktionary's homophone list; some hold only in some accents).
Also written: barrow, borough.
Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with burrow?
3 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as burrow from its last stressed vowel (/ʌɹoʊ/):
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 burrow
- burrows plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- burrowing participle, present
- burrowed participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does burrow mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A tunnel or hole, or a system of tunnels, often as dug by a small creature for use as a home.
- 2
obsoleteObsolete form of barrow (“a mound”).
- 3
obsoleteObsolete form of borough (“an incorporated town”).
verb
- 1
To dig a tunnel or hole.
- 2
To move underneath or press up against in search of safety or comfort.
The young girl burrowed into the bed.
- 3
To investigate thoroughly.
The journalist burrowed into the origins of the mayor's corruption.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Burrow in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | terrier, clapier |
| German | Bau , graben |
| Portuguese | túnel, toca , cavar |
| Spanish | madriguera, ratonera , socavar, cavar |
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 burrow come from?
From Middle English borowe, borewe, borwȝ, burȝe, burh, burye (“refuge for an animal, lair, burrow”), apparently a variant of Middle English burgh (“fortified dwelling, stronghold, refuge”) (see borough) and thus from Old English burh, from Proto-West Germanic *burg, from Proto-Germanic *burgz (“stronghold, city”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰerǵʰ- (“high”), but this sense is not known in Old English burh. Compare, however, Dutch cognate burcht, which has a similar sense.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).