lane

/leɪn/

//leɪn// noun

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

"lane" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“lane” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #2,630 in English word frequency and used as a noun.

#2,630
frequency rank, English
4
letters
5
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A road, street, or similar thoroughfare.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

lane vs le
50% similar
lane vs LN
0% similar
lane vs law
50% similar

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

Key facts for lane
PropertyValue
Headwordlane
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/leɪn/
Letters4
Frequency rank#2,630
Misspellings tracked5
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “lane” sits in English frequency

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

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for lane is 4 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /leɪn/. Corpus data places it at rank #2,630 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 13 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 5 likely wrong-spelling variants for lane, with forms such as "alne", "laen", and "lanne". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "le", "LN", "law", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English lane, lone, from Old English lanu (“a lane, alley, avenue”), from Proto-West Germanic *lanu, from Proto-Germanic *lanō (“lane, passageway”). Cognate with Scots lone (“cattle-track, by-road”), West Frisian leane, loane (“a walkway, avenue… The correct English form is lane, spelled L-A-N-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A road, street, or similar thoroughfare.
  2. 2
    A narrow passageway between fences, walls, hedges or trees.
  3. 3
    A narrow road, as in the country.
  4. 4
    A lengthwise division of roadway intended for a single line of vehicles.
  5. 5
    A similar division of a racetrack to keep runners apart.
  6. 6
    A similar division of a swimming pool using lines of coloured floats to keep swimmers apart.
  7. 7
    Any of a number of parallel tracks or passages.
  8. 8
    A course designated for ships or aircraft.
  9. 9
    An elongated wooden strip of floor along which a bowling ball is rolled.
  10. 10
    An empty space in the tableau, formed by the removal of an entire row of cards.
  11. 11
    Any of the parallel slots in which values can be stored in a SIMD architecture.
  12. 12
    In MOBA (multiplayer online battle arena) games, a particular path on the map that may be traversed by enemy characters.
  13. 13
    The home stretch.

Etymology

From Middle English lane, lone, from Old English lanu (“a lane, alley, avenue”), from Proto-West Germanic *lanu, from Proto-Germanic *lanō (“lane, passageway”). Cognate with Scots lone (“cattle-track, by-road”), West Frisian leane, loane (“a walkway, avenue”), Dutch laan (“alley, avenue”), German Low German Lane, Laan (“lane”), Swedish lån (“covered walkway encircling a house”), Icelandic lön (“a row of houses”).

Synonyms

carriagewaydirectionroadwaysidealley

This word in other languages

camino(Español)chemin(Français)Gasse(Deutsch)alameda(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: alne,laen,lanne,llane,lnae

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of lane - 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.

alne2laen2lanne1llane1lnae2
Edit distance from "lane"

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 "lane"?
"lane" is spelled L-A-N-E. The IPA pronunciation is /leɪn/.
What does "lane" mean?
As a noun, "lane" means: A road, street, or similar thoroughfare.
What words are commonly confused with "lane"?
"lane" is commonly confused with "le", "LN", "law". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "lane"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "lane" is /leɪn/. 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 "lane"?
From Middle English lane, lone, from Old English lanu (“a lane, alley, avenue”), from Proto-West Germanic *lanu, from Proto-Germanic *lanō (“lane, passageway”). Cognate with Scots lone (“cattle-track, by-road”), West Frisian leane, loane (“a walkw... 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.

Using “lane”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is L-A-N-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /leɪn/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “le” - see the side-by-side comparison. lane vs le
  • 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.

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

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