leakervsleerWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: leaker is a noun, leer is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“leaker” is a noun and “leer” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#48,319
“leaker” frequency rank
#47,726
“leer” frequency rank
96045
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature leaker leer
Definition Somebody who leaks information. To look sideways or obliquely; now especially with sexual desire or malicious intent.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set leaker and leer apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
leaker
4 ch
leer

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: leaker is anoun and leeraverb. On the page they differ by 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 96045, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

leaker is recorded at frequency rank #48,319, classified as anoun. leer is at rank #47,726, tagged as averb, pronounced /lɪə/.

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 96045, this pair ranks #721 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of leaker vs leer

Shared letters: elr. Private to "leaker": ak. Private to "leer": -.

"leaker" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC  ·  "leer" · 4 letters · shape CVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • leakerelaker · laeker · leaekr · leakerr · leakker · leakre · lekaer · lleaker
  • leereler · leerr · ler · lere · lleer

Frequency comparison

leaker#48,319
leer#47,726

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "leaker" and "leer" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "leaker" is a noun and "leer" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "leaker" or "leer"?
"leer" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #47,726 in our English list, against #48,319 for "leaker". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering leaker vs leer

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “leaker”; for a verb, it's “leer”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “leaker” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list