layervsleakerTell them apart

Which to use

“layer” and “leaker” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#3,635
“layer” frequency rank
#48,319
“leaker” frequency rank
51954
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature layer leaker
Definition A single thickness of some material covering a surface. Somebody who leaks information.

Letter map: layer vs leaker

Shared letters muted; letters that set layer and leaker apart highlighted. Shared run: 4.

5 ch
layer
6 ch
leaker

Pair insight - layer / leaker

layer and leaker are indexed as a confusable English pair. We have no recorded pronunciation or part of speech for both members, so the spelling overlap is what we can show you: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 51954, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

layer is recorded at frequency rank #3,635, classified as anoun, pronounced /lɛə/. leaker is at rank #48,319, tagged as anoun.

Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.

With a confusion score of 51954, this pair ranks #161,103 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of layer vs leaker

Shared letters: aelr. Private to "layer": y. Private to "leaker": k.

"layer" · 5 letters · shape CVVVC  ·  "leaker" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • layeralyer · laeyr · layerr · layre · layyer · llayer · lyaer
  • leakerelaker · laeker · leaekr · leakerr · leakker · leakre · lekaer · lleaker

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "layer" and "leaker" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length, but the dictionary glosses above give them different meanings, so swapping one for the other changes what the sentence says.
Frequency check: "layer" vs "leaker" - which ranks higher?
"layer" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,635 in our English list, against #48,319 for "leaker". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

After this comparison

Done with this confusable. These links stay specific to "layer" and "leaker".

  • Full dictionary entry for "layer" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "leaker" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #161,103 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "layer" and "leaker" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "laver vs leaker". Nearby pair
  • Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes

Confusion rank #161,103 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list