islet
/ˈaɪ.lət/
"islet" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“islet” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #38,916 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #38,916
- frequency rank, English
- 5
- letters
- 7
- tracked misspellings
- 8
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A small island.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | islet |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈaɪ.lət/ |
| Letters | 5 |
| Frequency rank | #38,916 |
| Misspellings tracked | 7 |
| Confusable pairs | 8 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “islet” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for islet is 5 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈaɪ.lət/. Corpus data places it at rank #38,916 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for islet, with forms such as "ilset", "iselt", and "islett". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 8 confusable-pair relationships, "isn't", "ile", "isle", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle French islette. By surface analysis, is(le) + -let. Mostly displaced native Middle English eyt, eit and Middle English holm, holme (See eyot and holm for more). The correct English form is islet, spelled I-S-L-E-T.
Definition
- 1A small island.
- 2An isolated piece of tissue that has a specific function.
Etymology
From Middle French islette. By surface analysis, is(le) + -let. Mostly displaced native Middle English eyt, eit and Middle English holm, holme (See eyot and holm for more).
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: ilset,iselt,islett,isllet,islte,isslet,silet
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of islet - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.
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 "islet"?
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Using “islet”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is I-S-L-E-T - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈaɪ.lət/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “isn't” - see the side-by-side comparison. islet vs isn't
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.