hide one's light under a bushel
/ˌhaɪd wʌnz ˈlaɪt ˌʌndɚ‿ə ˈbʊʃl̩/
"hide-one-s-light-under-a-bushel" is a 25-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“hide one's light under a bushel” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 31
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To conceal one's positive qualities or talents, especially due to modesty or shyness; to avoid attention.
Corpus desk
Index EN-hide-one-s-light-under-a · hide one's light under a bushel · English
hide one's light under a bushel · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MEGA 31 letters
- VOW-10 10 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "H" 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.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | hide one's light under a bushel |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /ˌhaɪd wʌnz ˈlaɪt ˌʌndɚ‿ə ˈbʊʃl̩/ |
| Letters | 31 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “hide one's light under a bushel” in English
Rare enough to double-check
hide one's light under a bushel is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as averb, transcribed /ˌhaɪd wʌnz ˈlaɪt ˌʌndɚ‿ə ˈbʊʃl̩/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "To conceal one's positive qualities or talents, especially due to modesty or shyness; to avoid attention.".
hide one's light under a bushel has no tracked misspelling variants, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: Originally a reference to one of Jesus Christ’s parables recorded in Matthew 5:14–15, Mark 4:21–25, and Luke 8:16–18 of the Bible. For example, in the King James Version the passage from Matthew states (spelling modernized): “Ye are the light of the world. … The correct English form is hide one's light under a bushel, spelled H-I-D-E- -O-N-E-'-S- -L-I-G-H-T- -U-N-D-E-R- -A- -B-U-S-H-E-L.
Definition
- 1To conceal one's positive qualities or talents, especially due to modesty or shyness; to avoid attention.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how hide one's light under a bushel appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
O then doe not knit vp your Maſters talent in a Napkin; ſmother not his light vnder a buſhell; […] but aboue all, ſquander not avvay your rich portions by riotous living.
VVhen after all, a Man is fully convinced of Truth, and believes it in his Heart; yet, for Fear of Man, he hides this Light under a Bushel, by not confeſſing it before Men.
Etymology
Originally a reference to one of Jesus Christ’s parables recorded in Matthew 5:14–15, Mark 4:21–25, and Luke 8:16–18 of the Bible. For example, in the King James Version the passage from Matthew states (spelling modernized): “Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill, cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel: but on a candlestick, and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your father which is in heaven.” The parable uses the imagery of a candle hidden under an overturned bushel (“a dry-measure vessel with a capacity of eight gallons”), and is interpreted as a call to Christians to set a good example through their actions that other people may come to believe in the faith.
This word in other languages
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.