boulevard

\bul.vaʁ\

/\bul.vaʁ\/ noun

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

The verdict

“boulevard” is a regularly-used French word, ranked #4,129 in French word frequency and used as a noun.

#4,129
frequency rank, French
9
letters
13
tracked misspellings
3
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Terre-plein d’un rempart, terrain d’un bastion ou d’une courtine.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

boulevard vs bouvard
78% similar
boulevard vs boulevards
90% similar
boulevard vs boulard
78% similar

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

Key facts for boulevard
PropertyValue
Headwordboulevard
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\bul.vaʁ\
Letters9
Frequency rank#4,129
Misspellings tracked13
Confusable pairs3
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “boulevard” 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). boulevard 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 boulevard is 9 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \bul.vaʁ\. Corpus data places it at rank #4,129 in overall French word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 7 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 13 likely wrong-spelling variants for boulevard, with forms such as "bboulevard", "boluevard", and "bouelvard". 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 3 confusable-pair relationships, "bouvard", "boulevards", "boulard", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

No documented word history exists for this headword, so its spelling is best read as a straightforward mapping from sound to letter. The correct French form is boulevard, spelled B-O-U-L-E-V-A-R-D.

Definition

  1. 1
    Terre-plein d’un rempart, terrain d’un bastion ou d’une courtine.
  2. 2
    Place forte, bastion ou rempart métaphorique ; moyen de défense.
  3. 3
    Promenade plantée d’arbres, qui fait le tour d’une ville et qui occupe souvent l’espace des anciens remparts.
  4. 4
    Large voie, le plus souvent plantée d’arbres.
  5. 5
    Route largement ouverte pour atteindre un objectif, débarrassée de tout obstacle ou concurrent éventuel, en ayant les coudées franches.
  6. 6
    Théâtre de boulevard.
  7. 7
    Passage au niveau du pont d’un bateau, de part et d’autre du château.

Synonyms

rempart

This word in other languages

bulwark(English)bulevar(Español)Boulevard(Deutsch)avenida(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: bboulevard,boluevard,bouelvard,bouleavrd,boulevadr,boulevardd,boulevarrd,boulevrad,boulevvard,boullevard,boulveard,buolevard,obulevard

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of boulevard - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

bboulevard1boluevard2bouelvard2bouleavrd2boulevadr2boulevardd1boulevarrd1boulevrad2
Edit distance from "boulevard"

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 "boulevard"?
"boulevard" is spelled B-O-U-L-E-V-A-R-D. The IPA pronunciation is \bul.vaʁ\.
What does "boulevard" mean?
As a noun, "boulevard" means: Terre-plein d’un rempart, terrain d’un bastion ou d’une courtine.
What words are commonly confused with "boulevard"?
"boulevard" is commonly confused with "bouvard", "boulevards", "boulard". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "boulevard"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "boulevard" is \bul.vaʁ\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "boulevard" come from?
"boulevard" 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 “boulevard”

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

  • The one correct French spelling is B-O-U-L-E-V-A-R-D - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \bul.vaʁ\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “bouvard” - see the side-by-side comparison. boulevard vs bouvard
  • 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