burrow

/ˈbʌɹəʊ/

//ˈbʌɹəʊ// noun

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

"burrow" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“burrow” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #25,305. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#25,305
frequency rank, English
4,121
“B” headwords
7
tracked misspellings
8
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A tunnel or hole, often as dug by a small creature.

Corpus desk

Index EN-burrow · burrow · English

burrow · rank #25,305 · 7 variants · 8 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #25,305
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 8 pairs
  • VAR-MID 7 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,121
  • PHOTO-FINISH burlesque

Nearest frequency peer: burlesque (-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 “burrow”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “burrow” 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).

burrow vs Burton
50% similar
burrow vs brow
67% similar
burrow vs burr
67% similar

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

Key facts for burrow
PropertyValue
Headwordburrow
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈbʌɹəʊ/
Letters6
Frequency rank#25,305
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs8
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “burrow”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).burrowlands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “burlesque” (#25,304), “brazen” (#25,303), “Calder” (#25,307). Among 4,121 “B” headwords, “burrow” is #25,305. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 7 spelling variants around burrow (IPA /ˈbʌɹəʊ/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #25,305 among 4,121 “B” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for burrow, with forms such as "bburrow", "brurow", and "burorw". 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 8 confusable-pair relationships, "Burton", "brow", "burr", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: 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 Germa… The correct English form is burrow, spelled B-U-R-R-O-W.

Definition

  1. 1
    A tunnel or hole, often as dug by a small creature.
  2. 2
    Obsolete form of barrow (“a mound”).
  3. 3
    Obsolete form of borough (“an incorporated town”).

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. But very soon he grew to like it, for the Boy used to talk to him, and made nice tunnels for him under the bedclothes that he said were like the burrows the real rabbits lived in.

Etymology

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. It may be related to bury (“to dig”), in which case it would be derived from Proto-Indo-European *bʰergʰ- (“to protect, defend, save, preserve”).

This word in other languages

madriguera(Español)terrier(Français)Bau(Deutsch)túnel(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • bburrow
  • brurow
  • burorw
  • burow
  • burroww
  • burrwo
  • ubrrow

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of burrow - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

bburrow1brurow2burorw2burow1burroww1burrwo2ubrrow2
Edit distance from "burrow"

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 "burrow"?
"burrow" is spelled B-U-R-R-O-W. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈbʌɹəʊ/.
What does "burrow" mean?
As a noun, "burrow" means: A tunnel or hole, often as dug by a small creature.
What words are commonly confused with "burrow"?
"burrow" is commonly confused with "Burton", "brow", "burr". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "burrow"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "burrow" is /ˈbʌɹəʊ/. 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 "burrow"?
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-... 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 "burrow", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

brazen#25,303Calder#25,307cashed#25,311caster#25,312

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (7 here; floor ≥5).

clasp7 variantsAztec7 variantsAnand7 variantsdoves7 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list