layabout
/ˈleɪəˌbaʊt/
"layabout" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“layabout” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 8
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A lazy person.
Corpus desk
Index EN-layabout · layabout · English
layabout · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-LONG 8 letters
- VOW-5 5 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "L" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
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.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | layabout |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈleɪəˌbaʊt/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “layabout” in English
Rare enough to double-check
layabout is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈleɪəˌbaʊt/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A lazy person.".
No generated misspelling entries exist for layabout in our index, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.
Etymologically, the entry records: From lay + about. The correct English form is layabout, spelled L-A-Y-A-B-O-U-T.
Definition
- 1A lazy person.
Recorded use
Wiktionary exampleThese source excerpts show how layabout appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
“That’s better. Gilbert Goodie! I should have known it was you. The one-legged layabout. The uni-ped idler. The stumpy skiver. Stealing coins from a wishing well now, are we? You couldn’t make it up!”
Etymology
From lay + about.
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.