nbsp

noun

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

"nbsp" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“nbsp” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #25,856. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#25,856
frequency rank, English
1,534
“N” headwords
7
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Initialism of non-breaking space.

Corpus desk

Index EN-nbsp · nbsp · English

nbsp · rank #25,856 · 7 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #25,856
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-0 0 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 7 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,534
  • PHOTO-FINISH netball

Nearest frequency peer: netball (+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 “nbsp”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “nbsp” 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).

nbsp vs NP
0% similar
nbsp vs NHS
0% similar
nbsp vs NSA
0% similar

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

Key facts for nbsp
PropertyValue
Headwordnbsp
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters4
Frequency rank#25,856
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “nbsp”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).nbsplands 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 “netball” (#25,857), “nieces” (#25,858), “multiculturalism” (#25,853). Among 1,534 “N” headwords, “nbsp” is #25,856. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 7 spelling variants around nbsp, anoun. Corpus frequency is #25,856 among 1,534 “N” headwords. Dominant gloss: "Initialism of non-breaking space.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for nbsp, with forms such as "bnsp", "nbbsp", and "nbps". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "NP", "NHS", "NSA", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

This entry's etymology isn't recorded, so any spelling logic here comes from how the word's sounds map to letters, not a documented origin story. The correct English form is nbsp, spelled N-B-S-P.

Definition

  1. 1
    Initialism of non-breaking space.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. I also changed OutputToString and OutputToStream to check for an empty document when requesting plain text, in which case they'll return an empty string or stream. This fixes the bug where we'd send back an nbsp in the string.
  2. You need the nbsp in order for the cell to show like a regular cell (otherwise you get that "raised" looking space -- if you know what I mean).

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • bnsp
  • nbbsp
  • nbps
  • nbspp
  • nbssp
  • nnbsp
  • nsbp

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of nbsp - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

bnsp2nbbsp1nbps2nbspp1nbssp1nnbsp1nsbp2
Edit distance from "nbsp"

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 "nbsp"?
"nbsp" is spelled N-B-S-P.
What does "nbsp" mean?
As a noun, "nbsp" means: Initialism of non-breaking space.
What words are commonly confused with "nbsp"?
"nbsp" is commonly confused with "NP", "NHS", "NSA". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
What language does "nbsp" come from?
"nbsp" 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.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "nbsp", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

OSHA#25,866pane#25,874joss#25,813Jain#25,807

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (7 here; floor ≥5).

Moffat7 variantsmarred7 variantspiety7 variantslumen7 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list