burst

/bɝst/

//bɝst// verb

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

"burst" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“burst” has 8 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #5,579. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#5,579
frequency rank, English
4,121
“B” headwords
8
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To break from internal pressure.

Corpus desk

Index EN-burst · burst · English

burst · rank #5,579 · 8 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #5,579
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 8 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,121
  • PHOTO-FINISH bombs

Nearest frequency peer: bombs (-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.

Frequency neighbourhood for “burst”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “burst” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

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).

burst vs but
60% similar
burst vs bus
60% similar
burst vs busy
60% similar

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

Key facts for burst
PropertyValue
Headwordburst
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/bɝst/
Letters5
Frequency rank#5,579
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “burst” sits in English frequency

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).burstlands here:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “bombs” (#5,578), “caps” (#5,580), “blacks” (#5,577). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 8 spelling variants around burst (IPA /bɝst/), averb. Corpus frequency is #5,579 among 4,121 “B” headwords. Wiktionary lists 8 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for burst, with forms such as "bburst", "brust", and "burrst". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "but", "bus", "busy", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English bresten, bersten, from Old English berstan, from Proto-West Germanic *brestan, from Proto-Germanic *brestaną, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰres- (“to burst, break, crack, split, separate”), enlargement of *bʰreHi- (“to snip, split”). See a… The correct English form is burst, spelled B-U-R-S-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    To break from internal pressure.
  2. 2
    To cause to break from internal pressure.
  3. 3
    To cause to break by any means.
  4. 4
    To separate (printer paper) at perforation lines.
  5. 5
    To enter or exit hurriedly and unexpectedly.
  6. 6
    To erupt; to change state suddenly as if bursting.
  7. 7
    To produce as an effect of bursting.
  8. 8
    To interrupt suddenly in a violent or explosive manner; to shatter.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. I blew the balloon up too much, and it burst.
  2. I burst the balloon when I blew it up too much.

Etymology

From Middle English bresten, bersten, from Old English berstan, from Proto-West Germanic *brestan, from Proto-Germanic *brestaną, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰres- (“to burst, break, crack, split, separate”), enlargement of *bʰreHi- (“to snip, split”). See also West Frisian boarste, Dutch barsten, Danish briste, Swedish brista; also Irish bris (“to break”)). More at brine. Also cognate to debris.

This word in other languages

reventar(Español)éclater(Français)platzen(Deutsch)arrebentar(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • bburst
  • brust
  • burrst
  • bursst
  • burstt
  • burts
  • busrt
  • ubrst

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

bburst1brust2burrst1bursst1burstt1burts2busrt2ubrst2
Edit distance from "burst"

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 "burst"?
"burst" is spelled B-U-R-S-T. The IPA pronunciation is /bɝst/.
What does "burst" mean?
As a verb, "burst" means: To break from internal pressure.
What words are commonly confused with "burst"?
"burst" is commonly confused with "but", "bus", "busy". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "burst"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "burst" is /bɝst/. 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 "burst"?
From Middle English bresten, bersten, from Old English berstan, from Proto-West Germanic *brestan, from Proto-Germanic *brestaną, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰres- (“to burst, break, crack, split, separate”), enlargement of *bʰreHi- (“to snip, spli... 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 "burst", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

bombs#5,578bacon#5,573costa#5,589yield#5,567

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (8 here; floor ≥5).

barrier8 variantsworries8 variantswarrior8 variantsrocky8 variants

What to do next

You've looked up "burst". Here's where to go from here.

  • "burst" maps to 20 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "but". View pair
  • 8 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
  • Usage frequency rank #5,579 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more English words in the "B" letter cohort. B–Z browse
  • PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

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