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Words with a Silent B

Based on the definitions, guess these words that have a silent B.
Quiz by Quizmaster
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Last updated: February 16, 2018
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First submittedAugust 17, 2013
Times taken42,457
Average score66.7%
Rating4.17
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Definition
Word
Young sheep
Lamb
To ascend
Climb
Without the ability to feel
Numb
A small piece of bread that breaks off
Crumb
Lead ball on a string used to test verticality
Plumb
Burial vault
Tomb
Uterus
Womb
Vertical parts of a doorframe
Jamb
"Foot" of verse with one stressed syllable
and one unstressed syllable
Iamb
Definition
Word
The opposite of certainty
Doubt
Arm or leg, for example
Limb
Money owed
Debt
Without the ability to speak
(now considered pejorative)
Dumb
Not obvious
Subtle
Hexagonal cells made by bees
Honeycomb
To fail disastrously at the box office
Bomb
To yield to desire
Succumb
Subterranean tunnel system once
used as a cemetery
Catacomb
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49 Comments
dcmitchell
+18
Level 46
Sep 25, 2013
I would think a different clue for 'bomb' might be more effective. The only word I could think of was 'flop', which obviously doesn't fit. Good quiz, though.
ctleng76
+3
Level 65
Sep 25, 2013
I was just about to say the same thing when I read your comment. I have hear bomb used in this context before, but it is hardly a clear answer for the question.
beans
+4
Level 54
Sep 26, 2013
Agreed. I thought "flop."
redsplat
+15
Level 73
Nov 26, 2015
I think it's an adequate clue. It didn't give me any grief.
ChipOtley
+15
Level 73
Sep 18, 2017
It's not the most obvious definition, but it is indeed one ... and who said all answers had to be easy or obvious? Would take the fun/skill out of quizzes
AlmostAGenius
+4
Level 83
May 2, 2023
Some of the clues are just much more subtle…
Dimby
+4
Level 79
Nov 21, 2021
Just because there's a different word for the clue doesn't make "bomb" incorrect. If the clue was, "a box office flop", what would you write?
BlackLab
+7
Level 66
Sep 25, 2013
I could not tell the difference between a capital i and a lower case L.

Iamb = iamb. I know very little about poetry.

IsleAuHaulte
+8
Level 90
Jan 31, 2020
Lambic pentameter is drunken verse.

Much more common and easier to master.

nettybet
+2
Level 76
Sep 25, 2013
Got them all apart from the poetry one which I thought said Lamb until I read the comment above.
blinky
+10
Level 58
Mar 10, 2017
As in "iambic pentameter." Whatever that means. However the b is pronounced in that situation.
ChipOtley
+1
Level 73
Sep 18, 2017
Didn't understand the clue, and iambic pentameter was all I could think of ... which has a non-silent b as you say; if only I'd have started typing it!
stone222
+2
Level 48
Oct 3, 2018
i got lucky, unlike chip, i went for iambic even though i heard the b
kitsims
+9
Level 83
Nov 21, 2021
It's really not that hard to understand

Those words "iambic" and "pentameter"

Just mean a series of ten syllables

With pattern "unstressed-stressed" - as shown of course

Most famously by one who's called the Bard

And by this comment too. You're welcome, friend.

emwcee
+1
Level 47
Sep 26, 2013
Got them all except jamb. Good quiz.
dakgrl
+6
Level 57
Aug 18, 2014
I put just comb.
wolfcat95
+3
Level 66
Nov 21, 2021
Same here and I could not understand why it didn't work. Maybe it should be accepted? ... or change the clue to "hair straightening device."
schmib
+4
Level 60
Dec 21, 2015
I pronounce the b in all these words except doubt, debt and subtle. Perhaps its the dialect in the part of the world I live in (American midwest) but this quiz surprised me.
Hominka
+4
Level 81
Feb 25, 2016
Perhaps you should take the B out of "Schmib". That might help.
cpgatbyu
+10
Level 86
Jul 28, 2016
I grew up in the American midwest and never heard these B's pronounced.
cornflakesfu
+3
Level 87
Sep 30, 2018
Same. I lived in three different parts of the Midwest and never heard it in any of them.
blinky
+5
Level 58
Mar 10, 2017
You say "lam-ba" and "bom-ba"? Hahahahahahahah!!!
stone222
+2
Level 48
Oct 3, 2018
is your nickname pronounced schmeeeeeeeeeeeeee ?
H1905
+1
Level 45
Sep 8, 2024
Same
FatDad
+1
Level 82
Sep 17, 2017
I thought that the lead ball is called a "plumb bob". Surely "plumb" alone is a verb and has nothing to do with the lead ball (except that this is used to plumb.
Malbaby
+3
Level 70
Sep 17, 2017
I think the Plumb in this case comes from Lead the element, as in Plumbum. The Plumb Bob was really a lead piece on a string that was used to give a vertical drop line. Plumber comes from the same word (they used to work in lead) It is not always easy to find the correct grammar for questions when making a quiz, but as long as everyone knows what is meant by the question it has fulfilled it's mission.
diamadi
+1
Level 51
Feb 8, 2019
But, ahah, you came up with a silent B word that was missed in the quiz - plumber!!
RobNobody
+4
Level 79
Feb 8, 2019
"Plumb" can also be used as a noun, meaning the same thing as "plumb bob."
cornflakesfu
+2
Level 87
Sep 30, 2018
You can also succumb to other things, like disease.
ureds
+1
Level 49
Feb 8, 2019
Not obvious is doubtful, is it not? Subtle is fine but doubtful should be allowed.
Dimby
+5
Level 79
Nov 21, 2021
No. "Doubtful" is unrelated to whether or not something is obvious. If I wear a shirt that says, "Sexy Man" in large pink letters, that's both doubtful and obvious. If I had a shirt that had very small accented writing that said "This is a shirt!", then I would say that is neither doubtful nor obvious. Sasquatch, of course, is an example of something that is doubtful but is not obvious, since if he's real he's been pretty darn sneaky!
DoctorX
+1
Level 57
Feb 8, 2019
Your describing a Plumb Bob. Plumb alone doe fit your description. If you had "_________ Bob" then it would be more accurate.
RobNobody
+10
Level 79
Feb 8, 2019
According to all the dictionaries I'm looking at, it's fine how it is.
AlexThirkell
+1
Level 75
Nov 21, 2021
Impressive dedication to the protection of the definition of the noun plumb, but your "I'm" dictionary doesn't check out so I'm still not convinced.
Lilylee
+3
Level 76
Feb 8, 2019
Wow, so many words I have apparently pronounced wrong.
IsleAuHaulte
+6
Level 90
Jan 31, 2020
If youve been pronouncing debt like debit it could cause severe financial confusion.
SpencerGT
+1
Level 68
Nov 21, 2021
I still don't understand the concept of debit.
Murphster45
+7
Level 94
Nov 22, 2021
Debit, or debit cards, only use what money you currently have, usually in a checkings/spending account. So if oyu buy something with a debit card, that money instantly goes out of your account to the person/company you are paying. Credit, or credit cards, use your future money instead. When you buy something with a credit card, the amount that you paid gets added to a bill. Every month (usually), all charges/purchases you made with the credit card get added up into one price, and you have to pay it by the end of the month, using whatever accounts/funds you have available. If you dont pay it off then there is an interest, which increases the price of the bill for every month you dont pay it off. You can, of course, choose to pay the bill early, like as soon as the charge appears on your bill, to avert any issues, and this also helps build a good credit score, which essentially means you pay off your bills on time anytime you make a purchase.
bostjan
+2
Level 71
Nov 22, 2021
I got them all, but one gave me a lot of trouble. I'd recommend "To yield to a negative force," rather than to desire, as that is semantically much more accurate.
Ferbin
+1
Level 77
Sep 16, 2024
I agree.
flanin
+1
Level 53
Nov 24, 2021
Thought I would see "aplomb" somewhere on the list!
CoolioPopplio9
+5
Level 15
Dec 6, 2021
Kinda funny that subtle was actually not obvious😂
TheOnlyChalky
+2
Level 69
Sep 7, 2023
This quiz needs to be reworked imo. A "silent" letter means the letter doesn't affect the word, I understand the focus is on whether you hear THAT letter, but for example climb without a b is clim. The b affects the pronunciation, as it does with about half of these.

I just played the W version of this quiz and that one was fine.

Anyway, maybe I'm wrong, but it just seems a bit "grey area" for me.

Quizmaster
+2
Level ∞
Sep 7, 2023
The quiz is correct. A silent letter is simply one that is not sounded.
sumguy
+1
Level 86
Sep 9, 2024
But it's absence would change the pronunciation of the word. So the B isn't pronounced with a B sound, but it is pronounced. It's at least a pronunciation modifier. In climb, it modifies the I from short to long. I think the quiz is fine, but I understand the argument.
zackdc1
+3
Level 43
Sep 8, 2024
"Comb" should be accepted in addition to "honeycomb." Its an official synonym for "honeycomb."
Freestatebear
+1
Level 86
Sep 8, 2024
Agree - having known several beekeepers, they typically use the shortened term "comb."
Unitedsquadron
+1
Level 70
Sep 8, 2024
I'm amazed how I was able to speak english for 23 years without figuring out the b after the m was silent for most people.
Ferbin
+1
Level 77
Sep 16, 2024
A tomb need not be vaulted.
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