bricole

\bʁi.kɔl\

/\bʁi.kɔl\/ noun

The verdict

“bricole” is a moderately-common French word, ranked #40,151 in French word frequency and used as a noun.

#40,151
frequency rank, French
7
letters
10
tracked misspellings
6
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Catapulte médiévale, constituée d'un balancier appelé verge au bout duquel est attachée une poche contenant des projectiles, qui était actionnée en tirant sur l’autre extrémité du balancier, la tra...

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

bricole vs Brille
57% similar
bricole vs brocoli
71% similar
bricole vs bricoler
88% similar

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

Key facts for bricole
PropertyValue
Headwordbricole
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\bʁi.kɔl\
Letters7
Frequency rank#40,151
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs6
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “bricole” 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). bricole 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 bricole is 7 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \bʁi.kɔl\. Corpus data places it at rank #40,151 in overall French word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 13 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for bricole, with forms such as "bbricole", "bircole", and "brciole". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 6 confusable-pair relationships, "Brille", "brocoli", "bricoler", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

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 bricole, spelled B-R-I-C-O-L-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Catapulte médiévale, constituée d'un balancier appelé verge au bout duquel est attachée une poche contenant des projectiles, qui était actionnée en tirant sur l’autre extrémité du balancier, la traction étant facilitée par l’ajout d’un contre-poids.
  2. 2
    Partie du harnais ou harnais léger d’un animal de trait (cheval, âne, dromadaire, etc.) contre laquelle s’appuie son poitrail lorsqu’il va en avant.
  3. 3
    Arsenal où l’on entrepose les munitions, la poudre, les pierres de machines de guerre.
  4. 4
    Longe, lanière de cuir que l’on passe sur les épaules, utilisée pour porter une civière, des seaux, etc. → voir bretelle
  5. 5
    Retour de la balle lorsqu’elle a frappé une des murailles des côtés.
  6. 6
    Fait d’envoyer sa bille frapper une des bandes de manière qu’elle rencontre ensuite la bille sur laquelle on joue.
  7. 7
    Action des charges placées au dessus du centre de gravité d’un navire, et qui poussent à le faire pencher d’un coté ou de l’autre et au augmenter le roulis.
  8. 8
    Très petite ferme.
  9. 9
    Sorte de rets ou de filets pour prendre des cerfs, des daims, etc.
  10. 10
    Travaux menus, sans importance, accessoires.
  11. 11
    Bagatelle, chose de peu de valeur ou d’importance.
  12. 12
    Ennuis, problèmes.
  13. 13
    Dispositif empêchant les prisonniers ou personnes violentes de faire des gestes dangereux.

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: bbricole,bircole,brciole,briccole,bricloe,bricoel,bricolle,briocle,brricole,rbicole

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of bricole - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

bbricole1bircole2brciole2briccole1bricloe2bricoel2bricolle1briocle2
Edit distance from "bricole"

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 "bricole"?
"bricole" is spelled B-R-I-C-O-L-E. The IPA pronunciation is \bʁi.kɔl\.
What does "bricole" mean?
As a noun, "bricole" means: Catapulte médiévale, constituée d'un balancier appelé verge au bout duquel est attachée une poche contenant des projectiles, qui était actionnée en tirant sur l’autre extrémité du balancier, la tra...
What words are commonly confused with "bricole"?
"bricole" is commonly confused with "Brille", "brocoli", "bricoler". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "bricole"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "bricole" is \bʁi.kɔl\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "bricole" come from?
"bricole" 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 “bricole”

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

  • The one correct French spelling is B-R-I-C-O-L-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \bʁi.kɔl\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “Brille” - see the side-by-side comparison. bricole vs Brille
  • 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