laser

/ˈleɪz.ə(ɹ)/

//ˈleɪz.ə(ɹ)// noun

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

"laser" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“laser” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #5,140. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#5,140
frequency rank, English
2,297
“L” headwords
7
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A device that produces a monochromatic, coherent beam of light.

Corpus desk

Index EN-laser · laser · English

laser · rank #5,140 · 7 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #5,140
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 7 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,297
  • PHOTO-FINISH kidding

Nearest frequency peer: kidding (-1 rank slots)

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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “laser”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “laser” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

laser vs last
60% similar
laser vs late
60% similar
laser vs lose
60% similar

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

Key facts for laser
PropertyValue
Headwordlaser
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈleɪz.ə(ɹ)/
Letters5
Frequency rank#5,140
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “laser”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).laserlands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “kidding” (#5,139), “loyal” (#5,141), “Jerusalem” (#5,138). Among 2,297 “L” headwords, “laser” is #5,140. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 7 spelling variants around laser (IPA /ˈleɪz.ə(ɹ)/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #5,140 among 2,297 “L” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

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

  1. 1
    A device that produces a monochromatic, coherent beam of light.
  2. 2
    A beam of light produced by such a device; a laser beam.
  3. 3
    A laser printer.
  4. 4
    Ellipsis of laser hair removal.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. The bad news is that nearly every color laser is too big to share a desk with comfortably.
  2. I've still got a few more sessions of laser to get rid of the rest of my facial hair.

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

LASERoptical maseroptical MASER

This word in other languages

láser(Español)laser(Français)Laser(Deutsch)

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.

alser2laesr2laserr1lasre2lasser1llaser1lsaer2
Edit distance from "laser"

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"?
"laser" is spelled L-A-S-E-R. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈleɪz.ə(ɹ)/.
What does "laser" mean?
As a noun, "laser" means: A device that produces a monochromatic, coherent beam of light.
What words are commonly confused with "laser"?
"laser" is commonly confused with "last", "late", "lose". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "laser"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "laser" is /ˈleɪz.ə(ɹ)/. 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 "laser"?
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 -... 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.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "laser", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

loyal#5,141hated#5,133patch#5,149forty#5,130

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (7 here; floor ≥5).

radar7 variantsdealt7 variantsbored7 variantsadopt7 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list