Words that start with B
There are 500 words that start with b in this list, most common first. Filter by letters or length.
No words match that filter.
The most-used words that start with b, and what they mean
These are the 14 that come up most often in written English, so they are the ones worth knowing first.
- before
- adverbAt an earlier time.
- best
- adjectiveMost superior; most favorable.
- black
- adjective(of an object) Absorbing all light and reflecting none; dark and hueless.
- began
- verb(ergative) To start, to initiate or take the first step into something.
- blood
- nounA vital liquid flowing in the bodies of many types of animals that usually conveys nutrients and oxygen. In vertebrates, it is colored red by hemoglobin, is…
- believe
- verb(transitive) To accept as true, particularly without absolute certainty (i.e., as opposed to knowing).
- below
- adverbIn or to a lower place.
- beginning
- noun(uncountable) The act of doing that which begins anything; commencement of an action, state, or space of time; entrance into being or upon a course; the first…
- begin
- verb(ergative) To start, to initiate or take the first step into something.
- blue
- adjectiveOf a blue hue.
- beautiful
- adjectivePossessing beauty, impressing the eye; attractive.
- benefits
- nounpublic assistance; welfare.
- benefit
- nounAn advantage; help or aid from something.
- block
- nounA substantial, often approximately cuboid, piece of any substance.
Nouns, verbs and adjectives
Of the 500 words in this list, 341 can be used as a noun, including before, best, black, blood, below. Plenty of words do more than one job: state is a noun, a verb and an adjective depending on how you use it, which is why these numbers add up to more than the list itself.
How this list is built
The words come from the Datamuse language API, then get cleaned up, because the raw output is not much use on its own. Each word is checked against an English dictionary, with a frequency floor for anything not in it, so ordinary inflections survive while noise does not. Roman numerals, fragments and vowel-less abbreviations are stripped out.
What is left is ranked by how often each word actually appears in written English. That ordering is the point: it puts the words you might actually want at the top. The full method is on how we build these.
Common questions
How many words that start with b are there?
This list holds 500, filtered to real dictionary words and ranked by how common they are. English has more if you count obscure and archaic ones, but they are little use to anybody.
Can a word starting with B be a noun?
Yes. 341 of the 500 words on this list can be used as a noun. The breakdown above shows how many work as verbs, adjectives and adverbs too.
How are the words ordered?
By how often each word appears in written English, most common first, so the useful ones are at the top rather than buried under rarities. See how we build these.
Can I search inside the list?
Yes. The filter box narrows the list as you type, and where a list mixes lengths there are buttons to show only words of a given length.