latency
/ˈleɪ.tən.si/
"latency" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“latency” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #19,380 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #19,380
- frequency rank, English
- 7
- letters
- 11
- tracked misspellings
- 2
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Concealment; the state of being latent; the state of being hidden.
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 | latency |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈleɪ.tən.si/ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Frequency rank | #19,380 |
| Misspellings tracked | 11 |
| Confusable pairs | 2 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “latency” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for latency is 7 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈleɪ.tən.si/. Corpus data places it at rank #19,380 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 6 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for latency, with forms such as "altency", "laetncy", and "latecny". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 2 confusable-pair relationships, "latent", "lately", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: From latent + -ency. The correct English form is latency, spelled L-A-T-E-N-C-Y.
Definition
- 1Concealment; the state of being latent; the state of being hidden.
- 2Dormancy; the state of being inactive.
- 3A delay, an interval between the initiation of something and the occurrence.
- 4The time delay between a request for data or action and the beginning of the response or execution, often measured to assess system performance.
- 5The delay between a stimulus and the response it triggers in an organism.
- 6A stage in Sigmund Freud's psychoanalytic theory of the psychosexual development of children where children become asexual until their sexual desires come back at puberty.
Etymology
From latent + -ency.
Synonyms
Antonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: altency,laetncy,latecny,latenccy,latencyy,latenncy,latenyc,latnecy,lattency,llatency,ltaency
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of latency - 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.
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 "latency"?
What does "latency" mean?
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Using “latency”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is L-A-T-E-N-C-Y - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈleɪ.tən.si/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “latent” - see the side-by-side comparison. latency vs latent
- 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.