alley

/ˈæl.i/

//ˈæl.i// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"alley" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“alley” has 5 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #8,634. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#8,634
frequency rank, English
3,931
“A” headwords
5
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A narrow street or passageway, especially one through the middle of a block giving access to the rear of lots of buildings.

Corpus desk

Index EN-alley · alley · English

alley · rank #8,634 · 5 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #8,634
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 5 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,931
  • PHOTO-FINISH abusive

Nearest frequency peer: abusive (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “alley”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “alley” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

alley vs ally
80% similar
alley vs axle
60% similar
alley vs aloe
60% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for alley
PropertyValue
Headwordalley
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈæl.i/
Letters5
Frequency rank#8,634
Misspellings tracked5
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “alley”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).alleylands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “abusive” (#8,633), “appetite” (#8,636), “Yemen” (#8,631). Among 3,931 “A” headwords, “alley” is #8,634. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 5 spelling variants around alley (IPA /ˈæl.i/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #8,634 among 3,931 “A” headwords. Wiktionary lists 10 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 5 likely wrong-spelling variants for alley, with forms such as "alely", "aley", and "alleyy". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "ally", "axle", "aloe", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English aleye, from Anglo-Norman aleie, feminine of alé, past participle of aler (“to go”) (French aller). Doublet of allée. The correct English form is alley, spelled A-L-L-E-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    A narrow street or passageway, especially one through the middle of a block giving access to the rear of lots of buildings.
  2. 2
    The area between the outfielders.
  3. 3
    An establishment where bowling is played.
  4. 4
    An elongated wooden strip of floor along which a bowling ball is rolled.
  5. 5
    The extra area between the sidelines or tramlines on a tennis court that is used for doubles matches.
  6. 6
    A walk or passage in a garden or park, bordered by rows of trees or bushes.
  7. 7
    A passageway between rows of pews in a church.
  8. 8
    Any passage having the entrance represented as wider than the exit, so as to give the appearance of length.
  9. 9
    The space between two rows of compositors' stands in a printing office.
  10. 10
    A group of clowns; the collective noun for clowns.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how alley appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. The parking lot to my friend's apartment building is in the alley.
  2. He hit one deep into the alley.

Etymology

From Middle English aleye, from Anglo-Norman aleie, feminine of alé, past participle of aler (“to go”) (French aller). Doublet of allée.

Synonyms

alleyalleywaybacksbunnyruncharechorecloseennogentryfoldgangwaygantgennelginnelgunnelgittygullygullywayhocketjenneljiggerjittylanelanewaylokepassagependrabbit runshutsnickelwaysnickettenfoottwitcheltwittenwyndvennel

This word in other languages

callejón(Español)ruelle(Français)Gasse(Deutsch)beco(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • alely
  • aley
  • alleyy
  • allye
  • laley

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of alley - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

alely2aley1alleyy1allye2laley2
Edit distance from "alley"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "alley"?
"alley" is spelled A-L-L-E-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈæl.i/.
What does "alley" mean?
As a noun, "alley" means: A narrow street or passageway, especially one through the middle of a block giving access to the rear of lots of buildings.
What words are commonly confused with "alley"?
"alley" is commonly confused with "ally", "axle", "aloe". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "alley"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "alley" is /ˈæl.i/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "alley"?
From Middle English aleye, from Anglo-Norman aleie, feminine of alé, past participle of aler (“to go”) (French aller). Doublet of allée. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "alley", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Yemen#8,631Boris#8,643whats#8,625bully#8,644

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (5 here; floor ≥5).

Yale5 variantssour5 variantsglen5 variantsnode5 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list