bygone

/ˈbaɪɡɒn/

//ˈbaɪɡɒn// adj

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

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

The verdict

“bygone” has 9 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #35,643. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#35,643
frequency rank, English
4,121
“B” headwords
9
tracked misspellings
5
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Having been or happened in the distant past.

Corpus desk

Index EN-bygone · bygone · English

bygone · rank #35,643 · 9 variants · 5 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #35,643
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 5 pairs
  • VAR-MID 9 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,121
  • PHOTO-FINISH buzzard

Nearest frequency peer: buzzard (-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 “bygone”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “bygone” 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).

bygone vs Byron
50% similar
bygone vs Byrne
50% similar
bygone vs byline
67% similar

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

Key facts for bygone
PropertyValue
Headwordbygone
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈbaɪɡɒn/
Letters6
Frequency rank#35,643
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs5
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “bygone”

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).bygonelands here:

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “buzzard” (#35,642), “Butterfield” (#35,641), “buss” (#35,640). Among 4,121 “B” headwords, “bygone” is #35,643. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 9 spelling variants around bygone (IPA /ˈbaɪɡɒn/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #35,643 among 4,121 “B” headwords. Dominant gloss: "Having been or happened in the distant past.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for bygone, with forms such as "bbygone", "bgyone", and "byggone". 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 5 confusable-pair relationships, "Byron", "Byrne", "byline", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From by (adverb) + gone. The correct English form is bygone, spelled B-Y-G-O-N-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Having been or happened in the distant past.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. I had thought (Sir) to haue held my peace, vntill You had drawne Oathes from him, not to ſtay: you (Sir) Charge him too coldly. Tell him, you are ſure All in Bohemias well: this ſatisfaction, The ''by-gone-day proclaym'd, ſay this to him, He's beat from his beſt ward.
  2. Near by he could see the thicket of raspberry canes, growing tall and close like a tropical jungle, in whose shadow he had played with the Boy on bygone mornings.

Etymology

From by (adverb) + gone.

Synonyms

foregonehistoricalpast

This word in other languages

anteayer(Español)passé(Français)vergangen(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • bbygone
  • bgyone
  • byggone
  • bygnoe
  • bygoen
  • bygonne
  • byogne
  • byygone
  • ybgone

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

bbygone1bgyone2byggone1bygnoe2bygoen2bygonne1byogne2byygone1
Edit distance from "bygone"

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 "bygone"?
"bygone" is spelled B-Y-G-O-N-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈbaɪɡɒn/.
What does "bygone" mean?
As an adjective, "bygone" means: Having been or happened in the distant past.
What words are commonly confused with "bygone"?
"bygone" is commonly confused with "Byron", "Byrne", "byline". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "bygone"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "bygone" is /ˈbaɪɡɒn/. 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 "bygone"?
From by (adverb) + gone. 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 "bygone", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

Braden#35,639Borges#35,638Boland#35,637Blythe#35,635

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (9 here; floor ≥5).

buzzard9 variantsCopley9 variantsCortes9 variantsairfare9 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list