bouler

\bu.le\

/\bu.le\/ verb

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

The verdict

“bouler” is uncommon French (frequency #59,842 among 227,490 “B” headwords), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#59,842
frequency rank, French
227,490
“B” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Enfler, en parlant du pain, former une boule. Se mettre en boule, se pelotonner.

Key facts for bouler
PropertyValue
Headwordbouler
LanguageFrench
Part of speechVerb
IPA\bu.le\
Letters6
Frequency rank#59,842
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “bouler” 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). bouler lands here:

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

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

Rare enough to double-check

bouler is uncommon French at frequency #59,842 among 227,490 “B” headwords, classed as averb, transcribed \bu.le\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 13 senses are on record.

bouler doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable French patterns. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

This headword's origin isn't recorded in our source data, so spelling patterns must be inferred from the word's phoneme-to-grapheme mapping rather than from a documented borrowing chain. The correct French form is bouler, spelled B-O-U-L-E-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    Enfler, en parlant du pain, former une boule. Se mettre en boule, se pelotonner.
  2. 2
    Prendre une forme arrondie.
  3. 3
    Enfler de la racine, en parlant du grain semé ^([1]).
  4. 4
    Enfler sa gorge, en parlant du pigeon ^([1]).
  5. 5
    Avoir du mal à prononcer, par précipitation, au théâtre, faire une boulette.
  6. 6
    Chuter en se ramassant sur soi-même, en parlant d’un animal, lièvre ou lapin, et par extension d’une personne.
  7. 7
    Renverser, faire rouler à terre.
  8. 8
    Tuer un animal, qui se ramasse alors sur lui-même comme une boule.
  9. 9
    S’applique aux êtres humains.
  10. 10
    S’applique à un objet.
  11. 11
    Détruire, écrouler, particulièrement s’agissant d’une construction ou d’un bâtiment
  12. 12
    (transitif) Tabasser, passer à tabac quelqu'un.
  13. 13
    Effectuer un travail de terrassement avec un bulldozer.

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 "bouler"?
"bouler" is spelled B-O-U-L-E-R. The IPA pronunciation is \bu.le\.
What does "bouler" mean?
As a verb, "bouler" means: Enfler, en parlant du pain, former une boule. Se mettre en boule, se pelotonner.
How do you pronounce "bouler"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "bouler" is \bu.le\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "bouler" come from?
"bouler" 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.

Using “bouler”

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

  • The one correct French spelling is B-O-U-L-E-R - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \bu.le\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Browse more French words and confusable pairs in the same reference. French words

Other uncommon French words near this rank

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