bac

\bak\

/\bak\/ noun

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

The verdict

“bac” is a regularly-used French word, ranked #2,217 in French word frequency and used as a noun.

#2,217
frequency rank, French
3
letters
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Auge destinée à divers usages.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

bac vs by
33% similar
bac vs be
33% similar
bac vs BD
0% similar

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

Key facts for bac
PropertyValue
Headwordbac
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\bak\
Letters3
Frequency rank#2,217
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “bac” sits in French frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). bac lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The French entry for bac is 3 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \bak\. Corpus data places it at rank #2,217 in overall French word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 6 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for bac, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "by", "be", "BD", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Wiktionary doesn't record an etymology for this headword, so its spelling is easiest to reason about phoneme by phoneme, absent a documented history. The correct French form is bac, spelled B-A-C.

Definition

  1. 1
    Auge destinée à divers usages.
  2. 2
    Grand bateau plat, qui est principalement destiné à passer les gens, les animaux, les voitures, les charrettes, etc. d’un bord d’une rivière à l’autre, au moyen d’une corde qui la traverse.
  3. 3
    Casier de bières.
  4. 4
    Grosse prise de main confortable.
  5. 5
    Poubelle.
  6. 6
    Type de poubelle grand format, avec roues et couvercle, pour les déchets à jeter ou compostables ou recyclables.

This word in other languages

bin(English)batea(Español)Schale(Deutsch)caixa(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 French corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "bac"?
"bac" is spelled B-A-C. The IPA pronunciation is \bak\.
What does "bac" mean?
As a noun, "bac" means: Auge destinée à divers usages.
What words are commonly confused with "bac"?
"bac" is commonly confused with "by", "be", "BD". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "bac"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "bac" is \bak\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "bac" come from?
"bac" is a French 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.

Using “bac”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct French spelling is B-A-C - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \bak\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “by” - see the side-by-side comparison. bac vs by
  • Browse more French words and confusable pairs in the same reference. French words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list