landlubber

/ˈlænd.lʌ.bə/

//ˈlænd.lʌ.bə// noun

"landlubber" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“landlubber” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
10
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Someone unfamiliar with the sea or seamanship, especially a novice seaman.

Corpus desk

Index EN-landlubber · landlubber · English

landlubber · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "L" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

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.

Key facts for landlubber
PropertyValue
Headwordlandlubber
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈlænd.lʌ.bə/
Letters10
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “landlubber” in English

landlubberranks outside the top 100,000 English headwords, in the long tail of specialist, archaic, or seldom-used vocabulary, exactly the territory where a reader stops mid-sentence to double-check spelling.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

landlubber is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈlænd.lʌ.bə/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Someone unfamiliar with the sea or seamanship, especially a novice seaman.".

landlubber doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: Extension (with land) of earlier lubber. Compare also landloper. The correct English form is landlubber, spelled L-A-N-D-L-U-B-B-E-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    Someone unfamiliar with the sea or seamanship, especially a novice seaman.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. […] the making of sheathing and ship's pumps. This last rather unmarine field included more than a third of the patents before 1800, which may be one explanation for the predominance of landlubbers in early marine patenting.

Etymology

Extension (with land) of earlier lubber. Compare also landloper.

This word in other languages

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "landlubber"?
"landlubber" is spelled L-A-N-D-L-U-B-B-E-R. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈlænd.lʌ.bə/.
What does "landlubber" mean?
As a noun, "landlubber" means: Someone unfamiliar with the sea or seamanship, especially a novice seaman.
How do you pronounce "landlubber"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "landlubber" is /ˈlænd.lʌ.bə/. 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 "landlubber"?
Extension (with land) of earlier lubber. Compare also landloper. 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list