ballesta

/[baˈʝest̪a]/ noun

Letters

8 characters

Frequency Rank

#29,941

in Spanish word usage

Misspellings

11

tracked variants

Confusables

3

similar word pairs

ballesta is aSpanishnoun. It means: Arma portátil antigua que lanza flechas y bodoques. Tiene forma de arco horizontal con un dispositivo que tensa y fija la cuerda. Pronounced [baˈʝest̪a]. Often confused with ballet and Ballester.

Key facts for ballesta
PropertyValue
Headwordballesta
LanguageSpanish
Part of speechNoun
IPA[baˈʝest̪a]
Letters8
Frequency rank#29,941
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs3
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency rank visualization

Position of ballesta in Spanish word frequency (lower rank = more common)

Source: Wordfreq corpus

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The Spanish entry for ballesta is 8 letters long, classified as anoun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as [baˈʝest̪a]. Corpus data places it at rank #29,941 in overall Spanish word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it.Wiktionary records 4 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our Hunspell-derived misspelling index lists 11 documented wrong-spelling variants for ballesta, with forms such as "abllesta", "balelsta", and "balesta". Each variant represents a distinct typo pattern that appears often enough in corpora to be worth flagging, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution.It also participates in 3 confusable-pair relationships, "ballet", "Ballester", "ballena", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, so spelling patterns must be inferred from the word's phoneme-to-grapheme mapping rather than from a documented borrowing chain. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct Spanish form is ballesta, spelled B-A-L-L-E-S-T-A, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

Definition

  1. 1
    Arma portátil antigua que lanza flechas y bodoques. Tiene forma de arco horizontal con un dispositivo que tensa y fija la cuerda.
  2. 2
    Pieza de la suspensión de los vehículos que soporta el peso de la carrocería.
  3. 3
    Arma pesada antigua para lanzar flechas gruesas y piedras.
  4. 4
    Trampa para cazar pájaros.

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: abllesta,balelsta,balesta,ballesat,ballessta,ballestta,balletsa,ballseta,bballesta,blalesta,vallesta

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

Relative frequency of common misspelling types for ballesta

Misspelling Variants of "ballesta"

abllesta8balelsta8balesta7ballesat8ballessta9ballestta9balletsa8ballseta8
Misspelling Variants of "ballesta"

Frequency rank: #29,941 in Spanish

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "ballesta"?
"ballesta" is spelled B-A-L-L-E-S-T-A. The IPA pronunciation is [baˈʝest̪a].
What does "ballesta" mean?
As a noun, "ballesta" means: Arma portátil antigua que lanza flechas y bodoques. Tiene forma de arco horizontal con un dispositivo que tensa y fija la cuerda.
What words are commonly confused with "ballesta"?
"ballesta" is commonly confused with "ballet", "Ballester", "ballena". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "ballesta"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "ballesta" is [baˈʝest̪a]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "ballesta" come from?
"ballesta" is a Spanish word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
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.

Nearby Spanish words

Other entries that begin with the letter B in our Spanish index:

Explore PlainSpell

Data Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Frequency data from Wordfreq. Misspellings derived from Hunspell dictionaries.