firebase
/ˈfʌɪəbeɪs/
"firebase" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“firebase” is uncommon English (frequency #70,661 among 2,507 “F” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #70,661
- frequency rank, English
- 2,507
- “F” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - An encampment designed to provide indirect artillery support to infantry troops operating beyond the normal range of fire support from their own base camps; a fire support base.
Corpus desk
Index EN-firebase · firebase · English
firebase · rank #70,661 · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-RARE #70,661
- LEN-LONG 8 letters
- VOW-4 4 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-MID 2,507
- PHOTO-FINISH Finnigan
Nearest frequency peer: Finnigan (-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 “firebase”
Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)
- Finnigan
Finnigan
29,341 corpus weight
- firebase
firebase
29,340 corpus weight
- firewire
firewire
29,339 corpus weight
- fleshing
fleshing
29,337 corpus weight
- FLN
FLN
29,334 corpus weight
- flout
flout
29,332 corpus weight
What this shows Bars show where “firebase” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | firebase |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈfʌɪəbeɪs/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #70,661 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “firebase” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
firebase is uncommon English at frequency #70,661 among 2,507 “F” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈfʌɪəbeɪs/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "An encampment designed to provide indirect artillery support to infantry troops operating beyond the normal range of fire support from their own base camps; a fire support base.".
No misspelling variants are generated for firebase in our index, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. Our dataset records no confusable match here, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.
Etymologically, the entry records: From fire + base. The correct English form is firebase, spelled F-I-R-E-B-A-S-E.
Definition
- 1An encampment designed to provide indirect artillery support to infantry troops operating beyond the normal range of fire support from their own base camps; a fire support base.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how firebase appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
They had each set up a one-tank firebase, and become the center of a small community. Behind the sandbagged fort that each crew had built, a cluster of refugee huts and sprung up, and now, as the company drove by, these were the scenes of farewells.
US ground troop operations in the A Shau Valley were strengthened by fire support bases strategically located throughout the area. Firebase names like Eagle's Nest, Berchtesgaden, and Currahee evoked connections to the 101st Airborne's storied past during WWII. […] Our assignment after Hamburger Hill was at Firebase Airborne. […] The firebase housed batte…
Etymology
From fire + base.
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 "firebase"?
What does "firebase" mean?
How do you pronounce "firebase"?
What is the origin of the word "firebase"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "firebase", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).
What to do next
You've looked up "firebase". Here's where to go from here.
- Usage frequency rank #70,661 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
- Browse more English words in the "F" letter cohort. F–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.