by-law

/ˈbaɪ.lɔː/

//ˈbaɪ.lɔː// noun

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

The verdict

“by-law” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
6
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Alternative spelling of bylaw.

Corpus desk

Index EN-by-law · by-law · English

by-law · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "B" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

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.

Key facts for by-law
PropertyValue
Headwordby-law
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈbaɪ.lɔː/
Letters6
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “by-law” in English

by-lawsits beyond the 100,000 most-frequent English words, in the long tail of technical, archaic, or otherwise rare vocabulary where spelling doubt tends to strike hardest.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

by-law is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈbaɪ.lɔː/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Alternative spelling of bylaw.".

by-law has no tracked misspelling variants, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

Wiktionary doesn't record an etymology for this headword, so its spelling is easiest to reason about phoneme by phoneme, absent a documented history. The correct English form is by-law, spelled B-Y---L-A-W.

Definition

  1. 1
    Alternative spelling of bylaw.

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "by-law"?
"by-law" is spelled B-Y---L-A-W. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈbaɪ.lɔː/.
What does "by-law" mean?
As a noun, "by-law" means: Alternative spelling of bylaw.
How do you pronounce "by-law"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "by-law" is /ˈbaɪ.lɔː/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "by-law" come from?
"by-law" is a English word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list