labyrinth
/ˈlæb.ə.ɹɪnθ/noun, verb
labyrinth is spelled L-A-B-Y-R-I-N-T-H. The wrong spelling people search most is labryinth: about 270 Bing searches a month in the United States (September 2025 to August 2026), about 1 in 38 of all searches for the word. Labyrinth is a noun meaning “A complicated irregular network of passages or paths, especially underground or covered, in which it is…”. The plural of labyrinth is labyrinths.
How do you spell labyrinth?
Labyrinth is spelled L-A-B-Y-R-I-N-T-H. One wrong spelling is searched or written often enough to measure; together they are about 1 in 38 of the searches for labyrinth in either form.
Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026). Wrong spellings are taken from Wiktionary entries tagged "misspelling" and its obsolete or nonstandard forms, Wikipedia's Lists of common misspellings and the codespell dictionary, then measured. The proofreader's marks show the change that corrects each one.
What does labyrinth mean?
noun
- 1
A complicated irregular network of passages or paths, especially underground or covered, in which it is difficult to find one's way.
- 2
A maze formed by paths separated by high hedges.
- 3
A structure similar to a maze, but containing only one path with no branches, as distinguished from a maze which contains multiple branching paths
- 4
Anything complicated and confusing in structure, arrangement, or character.
- 5
A complex structure in the inner ear which contains the organs of hearing and balance, consisting of bony cavities (the bony labyrinth) filled with fluid and lined with sensitive membranes (the membranous labyrinth).
- 6
An accessory respiratory organ of certain fish.
- 7
Any of various satyrine butterflies of the genus Neope.
verb
- 1
To enclose in a labyrinth, or as though in a labyrinth.
- 2
To arrange in the form of a labyrinth.
- 3
To twist and wind, following a labyrinthine path.
- 4
To become lost and confused, as if in a labyrinth.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you pronounce labyrinth?
- /ˈlæb.ə.ɹɪnθ/
- /ˈlæb.ɹɪnθ/
Labyrinth has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-labyrinth.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of labyrinth
- labyrinths plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- labyrinthing participle, present
- labyrinthed participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How common is labyrinth?
Labyrinth appears 2.0 times per million words in written English, the 19,336th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
Labyrinth in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | labyrinthe |
| German | Labyrinth |
| Portuguese | labirinto |
| Spanish | laberinto , dédalo |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does labyrinth come from?
From Middle English laberynt, laberynthe, from Latin labyrinthus, from Ancient Greek λᾰβύρῐνθος (lăbúrĭnthos, “a maze”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).