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PlainSpell

lather

/ˈlæð.ɚ/noun, verb

lather is spelled L-A-T-H-E-R: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 40,703rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, lather means “The foam made by rapidly stirring soap and water” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of lather is lathers.

How many letters and syllables are in lather?

Letters6: L-A-T-H-E-R
Syllables2 (from its American pronunciation)
In writingabout once in every 2 million words; the 40,703rd most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search
Rhymes with
Same letters

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.

How common is lather?

Lather appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 40,703rd most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce lather?

  • UK /ˈlɑː.ðə/
  • UK /ˈlæð.ə/
  • US /ˈlæð.ɚ/

Lather has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-lather.ogg, En-au-lather.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Words people confuse with lather

Also written: rinse and repeat, rinse-repeat, wash, rinse, repeat.

Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).

What rhymes with lather?

2 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as lather from its last stressed vowel (/æðəɹ/):

Spelled with the same letters in another order: halter, thaler.

Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).

Forms of lather

  • lathers plural, present, singular, he/she/it
  • lathering participle, present
  • lathered participle, past

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does lather mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

noun

  1. 1

    The foam made by rapidly stirring soap and water.

  2. 2

    Foam from profuse sweating, as of a horse.

  3. 3

    A state of agitation.

verb

  1. 1

    To cover with lather.

    I lathered my body with lavender-scented soap.

  2. 2

    To beat or whip.

  3. 3

    To form lather or froth, as a horse does when profusely sweating.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Lather in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchmousse de savon (foam of soap and water), écume (foam from profuse sweating), savonner (to cover with lather)
GermanSeifenschaum, Schaum (foam of soap and water), Pferdeschaum (foam from profuse sweating), einschäumen (to cover with lather), aufschäumen, aufschlagen (to beat or whip)
Portugueseespuma (foam of soap and water), ensaboar (to cover with lather)
Spanishespuma de jabón, espuma jabonosa/saponácea (foam of soap and water), enjabonar (to cover with lather), espumar, espumear (to form lather or froth, as a horse does when…)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does lather come from?

From Middle English lather, from Old English lēaþor (“a kind of nitre used for soap, soda”), from Proto-West Germanic *lauþr, from Proto-Germanic *lauþrą (“that which is used for washing, soap”), from Proto-Indo-European *lówh₃trom (“that which is used for washing”), from *lewh₃-, *lowh₃- (“to wash, bathe”). Cognate with Swedish lödder (“lather, foam, froth, soap”), Icelandic löður (“foam, froth, a kind of niter used for soap”), Old Irish loathar (“wash-basin”), Ancient Greek λουτρόν (loutrón, “a bath, wash-room”), Latin lavō (“to wash”), Albanian laj (“to wash”), Ancient Greek λούω (loúō).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after lather