dbh
"dbh" is a 3-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“dbh” is uncommon English (frequency #91,403 among 3,470 “D” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #91,403
- frequency rank, English
- 3,470
- “D” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Initialism of diameter at breast height, a standard method of expressing the diameter of the trunk or bole of a standing tree, measured at the supposed height above ground of an adult's breast (whi...
Corpus desk
Index EN-dbh · dbh · English
dbh · rank #91,403 · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-RARE #91,403
- LEN-MID 3 letters
- VOW-0 0 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-MID 3,470
- PHOTO-FINISH deads
Nearest frequency peer: deads (+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.
Long-tail ranks near “dbh”
Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter
- cytogenetic
cytogenetic
8,604 corpus weight
- cytoskeletal
cytoskeletal
8,603 corpus weight
- darkling
darkling
8,600 corpus weight
- dbh
dbh
8,598 corpus weight
- deads
deads
8,597 corpus weight
- decile
decile
8,595 corpus weight
What this shows Long-tail view: where “dbh” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | dbh |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| Letters | 3 |
| Frequency rank | #91,403 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “dbh” in English
Rare enough to double-check
dbh is uncommon English at frequency #91,403 among 3,470 “D” headwords, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Initialism of diameter at breast height, a standard method of expressing the diameter of the trunk or bole of a standing tree, measured at the supposed height above ground of an adult's breast (whi...".
We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for dbh, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.
This entry's etymology isn't recorded, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct English form is dbh, spelled D-B-H.
Definition
- 1Initialism of diameter at breast height, a standard method of expressing the diameter of the trunk or bole of a standing tree, measured at the supposed height above ground of an adult's breast (which varies according to local convention from 1.3 to 1.5 metres).
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how dbh appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
We again found that the number of tree species in a sample of stems 20 cm dbh or larger is greater in selectively logged forest 8 years after the harvest than in nearby unlogged forest (t test, d.f.
Tuart is usually a tall tree attaining 25–40 m in height and 1–2 m dbh, but in the northern part of its distribution it may be reduced to about 10–15 m in height.
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
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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "dbh", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 3 letters (nearest by frequency rank).