laser
/ˈleɪz.ə(ɹ)/
"laser" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“laser” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #5,140 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #5,140
- frequency rank, English
- 5
- letters
- 7
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A device that produces a monochromatic, coherent beam of light.
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 | laser |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈleɪz.ə(ɹ)/ |
| Letters | 5 |
| Frequency rank | #5,140 |
| Misspellings tracked | 7 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “laser” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for laser is 5 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈleɪz.ə(ɹ)/. Corpus data places it at rank #5,140 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 4 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 laser, with forms such as "alser", "laesr", and "laserr". 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, "last", "late", "lose", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *lewk-der. Proto-Germanic *leuhtaz Proto-West Germanic *leuht Old English lēoht Middle English light English light Latin amplus Latin -ficō Latin amplificō Proto-Indo-European *-tisder. Proto-Italic *-tjō Latin -tiō Latin … The correct English form is laser, spelled L-A-S-E-R.
Definition
- 1A device that produces a monochromatic, coherent beam of light.
- 2A beam of light produced by such a device; a laser beam.
- 3A laser printer.
- 4Ellipsis of laser hair removal.
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *lewk-der. Proto-Germanic *leuhtaz Proto-West Germanic *leuht Old English lēoht Middle English light English light Latin amplus Latin -ficō Latin amplificō Proto-Indo-European *-tisder. Proto-Italic *-tjō Latin -tiō Latin amplificātiōlbor. English amplification Latin stimulus Latin stimulo Latin stimulatusbor. English stimulate English -ed English stimulated English emission English radiation English LASER English laser From LASER, acronym of light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation. Coined by American physicist Gordon Gould in 1957. Originally called an optical maser.
Synonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: alser,laesr,laserr,lasre,lasser,llaser,lsaer
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of laser - 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.
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 "laser"?
What does "laser" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "laser"?
How do you pronounce "laser"?
What is the origin of the word "laser"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “laser”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is L-A-S-E-R - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈleɪz.ə(ɹ)/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “last” - see the side-by-side comparison. laser vs last
- 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.