One of the most frustrating and interesting things about English is the crazy pronunciation. Silent letters can be particularly difficult. They are there. You can see them. But you don't hear them!

There are two situations in which B is silent. Silent B at the end of words is one common pattern. If you see -MB at the end of a word, usually you do not pronounce the B. The other common silent B pattern is -BT.

Examples of Silent B Words

Here is a word list with 17 examples of silent B words:

  





  
    Silent B Word List
  

    Word
    IPA
    PoS
    Definition
  

    bomb
    /bɒm/
    n.
    a machine that explodes
  

    comb
    /kəʊm/
    n.
    a device for making hair neat
  

    dumb
    /dʌm/
    adj.
    not smart
  

    lamb
    /læm/
    n.
    a young sheep
  

    climb
    /klaɪm/
    v.
    to go up
  

    tomb
    /tuːm/
    n.
    a building for dead bodies

        
    thumb
    /θʌm/
    n.
    finger on the side of the hand
  

    crumb
    /krʌm/
    n.
    a small piece of food

        
    limb
    /lɪm/
    n.
    an arm or leg
  

    numb
    /nʌm/
    adj.
    not feeling
  

    plumber
    /ˈplʌmər/
    n.
    someone who fixed pipes
  

    womb
    /wuːm/
    n.
    the uterus
  

    debt
    /dɛt/
    n.
    owing money
  

    doubt
    /daʊt/
    n.
    uncertainty
  

    subtle
    /ˈsʌtəl/
    adj.
    delicate; not obvious
  

    jamb
    /dʒam/
    n.
    the side of a doorway
  

Notice that the silent B doesn't tell us anything about the vowel in the word. The vowel sounds can be very different, for example in bomb, comb, and tomb.

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Why is B Silent Sometimes?

In the past, the B in these words was not silent. Over time, pronunciation changes. For example, bomb comes from the Italian bomba, in which the second B is pronounced, and climb was climban in Old English. By about 1300 C.E., the B had become silent.