à bord

\a bɔʁ\

/\a bɔʁ\/ adv

The verdict

“à bord” is uncommon French (outside the top frequency list), classed as an adverb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency French
6
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Sur le navire.

Corpus desk

Index FR-a-bord · à bord · French

à bord · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "À" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

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.

Key facts for à bord
PropertyValue
Headwordà bord
LanguageFrench
Part of speechAdverb
IPA\a bɔʁ\
Letters6
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Longue queue: rang de « à bord » en français

à bordreste hors des 100.000 mots français les plus fréquents, dans la longue queue du vocabulaire technique, archaïque ou rare, là où le doute d'orthographe frappe.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

à bord is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as anadverb, transcribed \a bɔʁ\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for à bord, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable French rules. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

No documented word history exists for this headword, so any spelling logic here comes from how the word's sounds map to letters, not a documented origin story. The correct French form is à bord, spelled À- -B-O-R-D.

Definition

  1. 1
    Sur le navire.
  2. 2
    Se dit d'une marchandise prise en charge à bord du navire au port de déchargement.
  3. 3
    Dans le projet, dans l’aventure.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. La navigation cesse aussitôt que le soleil est couché et à bord des bateaux amarrés le long des rives, les mariniers éteignent leurs falots à l'heure où jadis on sonnait le couvre-feu.
  2. Les vagues brisent à bord et submergent constamment le pont qui, mal calfaté à New-York, laisse pénétrer l'eau dans la cabine.

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.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "à bord"?
"à bord" is spelled À- -B-O-R-D. The IPA pronunciation is \a bɔʁ\.
What does "à bord" mean?
As an adverb, "à bord" means: Sur le navire.
How do you pronounce "à bord"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "à bord" is \a bɔʁ\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "à bord" come from?
"à bord" is a French word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list