English homophones
lair/layer
"layer" (#3,635 written frequency) beats "lair" (#21,559) in this 2-word /lɛə/ cluster. Size rank #133 of 1,007 English groups.
Data vintage
Frequency splits the cluster
These 2 spellings keep the same /lɛə/ reading, but written frequency splits them hard: "layer" leads at #3,635, with "lair" trailing at #21,559.
Spelling pairs in this cluster
- Shared stem "la" then splits - "lair" (4 letters) vs "layer" (5).
Orthographic DNA of this cluster
Shared letters across lair, layer: alr. Private letters are the ones only one spelling owns: the eye's fastest tell once sound is out of the picture.
lair
4 letters · 2 vowels · shape CVVC
Inventory ailr · private i
layer
5 letters · 3 vowels · shape CVVVC
Inventory aelry · private ey
Pick the spelling from the meaning
- Write "lair" when you mean: A place inhabited by a wild animal, often a cave or a hole in the ground.
- Write "layer" when you mean: A single thickness of some material covering a surface.
Known mistypes of these spellings
Edit-distance variants recorded against this cluster: useful when a search or OCR feed lands on the wrong form.
Each spelling
Nearby English homophone groups
What to do next
You've reviewed the 2-spelling cluster (lair, layer). Here's where to go from here.
- "layer" is the most frequent headword in this 2-spelling cluster (rank #3,635 in English). Full entry
- Among English homophone groups, a cluster of 2 spellings ranks #133 by size (1,007 groups in this vintage). Corpus statistics
- Explore a nearby 2-spelling cluster: lack · lac. Nearby cluster
- Each spelling in "lair, layer" has its own headword page with definition, IPA, and misspelling variants. First entry
PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.