Spelling.School · How to spell

How to spell bough

What it means: A large branch of a tree.

In a sentence: The bird made a nest on a high bough of the tree. ▶

The part people get wrong

Often misspelled as bow or bau.

Same family: branch, limb, twig, branching, overhanging. If you can spell one, the shared part carries to the others.

Where it comes from: “Bough” comes from Old English “bóg” or “bōg,” meaning “arm” or “shoulder,” which is why it also came to mean a large branch of a tree, like an arm stretching out. It is related to the word “bent” and to old Germanic words for “bowed” or “bent” shapes.

Try spelling it

You will hear the word and a sentence. Type it and press Enter. Then four more words from the same level, so you know where you stand.

Words like this

account · you'll · bought · fought · doubt · you'd · you've · dough

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