latter
/ˈlæt.ə(ɹ)/
"latter" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“latter” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #2,686 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.
- #2,686
- frequency rank, English
- 6
- letters
- 6
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Relating to or being the second of two items.
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 | latter |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ˈlæt.ə(ɹ)/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #2,686 |
| Misspellings tracked | 6 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “latter” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for latter is 6 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈlæt.ə(ɹ)/. Corpus data places it at rank #2,686 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for latter, with forms such as "altter", "latetr", and "latterr". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "layer", "liter", "lotte", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Old English lætra, comparative form of læt (“late”). Doublet of later; also, cognate with last, whose doublet is latest. The correct English form is latter, spelled L-A-T-T-E-R.
Definition
- 1Relating to or being the second of two items.
- 2Near (or nearer) to the end.
- 3In the past, but close (or closer) to the present time.
Etymology
From Old English lætra, comparative form of læt (“late”). Doublet of later; also, cognate with last, whose doublet is latest.
Antonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: altter,latetr,latterr,lattre,llatter,ltater
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of latter - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
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
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Using “latter”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is L-A-T-T-E-R - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈlæt.ə(ɹ)/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “layer” - see the side-by-side comparison. latter vs layer
- 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.