ballot

\ba.lo\

/\ba.lo\/ noun

The verdict

“ballot” is a moderately-common French word, ranked #33,564 in French word frequency and used as a noun.

#33,564
frequency rank, French
6
letters
7
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Petite balle de marchandises.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

ballot vs blot
67% similar
ballot vs balls
67% similar
ballot vs bello
67% similar

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

Key facts for ballot
PropertyValue
Headwordballot
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\ba.lo\
Letters6
Frequency rank#33,564
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “ballot” 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). ballot 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 ballot is 6 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \ba.lo\. Corpus data places it at rank #33,564 in overall French word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 5 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for ballot, with forms such as "abllot", "ballott", and "ballto". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "blot", "balls", "bello", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

No borrowing history is documented for this entry, so its spelling is best explained by sound-to-letter mapping rather than etymology. The correct French form is ballot, spelled B-A-L-L-O-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    Petite balle de marchandises.
  2. 2
    Ce qui est propre à quelqu'un.
  3. 3
    Balle ou botte de foin, de paille.
  4. 4
    Ensemble de bûches de bois maintenu par des cordes, en forme de cylindre, pour en faciliter le transport. (correspond généralement à un stère de bois)
  5. 5
    Personne peu éveillée.

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: abllot,ballott,ballto,balolt,balot,bballot,blalot

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

abllot2ballott1ballto2balolt2balot1bballot1blalot2
Edit distance from "ballot"

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 "ballot"?
"ballot" is spelled B-A-L-L-O-T. The IPA pronunciation is \ba.lo\.
What does "ballot" mean?
As a noun, "ballot" means: Petite balle de marchandises.
What words are commonly confused with "ballot"?
"ballot" is commonly confused with "blot", "balls", "bello". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "ballot"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "ballot" is \ba.lo\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "ballot" come from?
"ballot" is a French 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.

Using “ballot”

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

  • The one correct French spelling is B-A-L-L-O-T - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \ba.lo\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “blot” - see the side-by-side comparison. ballot vs blot
  • 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