nib

/nɪb/

//nɪb// noun

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

"nib" is a 3-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“nib” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #26,901) as a noun. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#26,901
frequency rank, English
1,534
“N” headwords
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The tip of a pen or tool that touches the surface, transferring ink to paper.

Corpus desk

Index EN-nib · nib · English

nib · rank #26,901 · 0 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #26,901
  • LEN-MID 3 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,534
  • PHOTO-FINISH Noah's

Nearest frequency peer: Noah's (+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 neighbours of confusable “nib”

Peers at similar corpus weight, separate from look-alike pairs below

corpus weight

What this shows Bars place “nib” against nearest ranked English headwords, not a reprint of the confusable-pair desk.

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).

nib vs NJ
0% similar
nib vs nm
33% similar
nib vs NZ
0% similar

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

Key facts for nib
PropertyValue
Headwordnib
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/nɪb/
Letters3
Frequency rank#26,901
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Corpus rank beside confusables of “nib”

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).niblands 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 “Noah's” (#26,902), “nonviolent” (#26,903), “needlessly” (#26,898). Among 1,534 “N” headwords, “nib” is #26,901. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for nib is neighbouring look-alikes ("NJ", "nm", …), not just typos; it is anoun pronounced /nɪb/. Frequency #26,901 among 1,534 “N” headwords. 7 recorded senses keep meaning in play.

No misspelling variants are generated for nib in our index, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "NJ", "nm", "NZ", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From a variant of neb, perhaps due to association with nibble. The correct English form is nib, spelled N-I-B.

Definition

  1. 1
    The tip of a pen or tool that touches the surface, transferring ink to paper.
  2. 2
    A bird's beak.
  3. 3
    Bits of trapped dust or other foreign material that form imperfections in painted or varnished surfaces.
  4. 4
    A piece of a roasted, hulled cocoa bean.
  5. 5
    A small and pointed thing or part; a point; a prong.
  6. 6
    One of the handles projecting from a scythe snath.
  7. 7
    The shaft of a wagon.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Slowly welling from the point of her gold nib, pale blue ink dissolved the full stop; for there her pen stuck; her eyes fixed, and tears slowly filled them.
  2. Ford, whose often acid nib belied a deep love of all things Iberian, is one of 20 British authors profiled in a new Spanish book[…].

Etymology

From a variant of neb, perhaps due to association with nibble.

This word in other languages

plumín(Español)plume(Français)Federspitze(Deutsch)ponta(Português)

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 "nib"?
"nib" is spelled N-I-B. The IPA pronunciation is /nɪb/.
What does "nib" mean?
As a noun, "nib" means: The tip of a pen or tool that touches the surface, transferring ink to paper.
What words are commonly confused with "nib"?
"nib" is commonly confused with "NJ", "nm", "NZ". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "nib"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "nib" is /nɪb/. 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 "nib"?
From a variant of neb, perhaps due to association with nibble. 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 "nib", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 3 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

mpg#26,893pau#26,910rah#26,931rel#26,938

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list