layer
/lɛə/
"layer" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“layer” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #3,635 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #3,635
- frequency rank, English
- 5
- letters
- 7
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A single thickness of some material covering a surface.
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 | layer |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /lɛə/ |
| Letters | 5 |
| Frequency rank | #3,635 |
| Misspellings tracked | 7 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “layer” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for layer is 5 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /lɛə/. Corpus data places it at rank #3,635 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 7 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for layer, with forms such as "alyer", "laeyr", and "layerr". 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, "lye", "lays", "leer", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: Appears at first glance to be from Middle English leyer, leyare (“a layer of stones or bricks”), equivalent to lay + -er. In which case, ultimately identical to etymology 2 below. For the pronunciation compare prayer. However, this word layer (referring to … The correct English form is layer, spelled L-A-Y-E-R.
Definition
- 1A single thickness of some material covering a surface.
- 2A single thickness of some material covering a surface.
- 3A (usually) horizontal deposit; a stratum.
- 4One of the items in a hierarchy.
- 5One in a stack of (initially transparent) drawing surfaces that comprise an image; used to keep elements of an image separate so that they can be modified independently from one another.
- 6One of the seven network switch pieces in the Open Systems Interconnection model: application, presentation, session, transport, network, data link, and physical.
- 7An alternative keymap accessed through a modifier key or toggle.
Etymology
Appears at first glance to be from Middle English leyer, leyare (“a layer of stones or bricks”), equivalent to lay + -er. In which case, ultimately identical to etymology 2 below. For the pronunciation compare prayer. However, this word layer (referring to a thickness of a material covering a surface) has also been argued to be from a respelling of an obsolete sense of the word lair that was once used by farmers, which had to do with soil. The connecting sense between the usual meaning of lair and the specialised farming meaning was: an area where cows typically rest, the ground being fertilised by their waste. Related to lie, ledger.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: alyer,laeyr,layerr,layre,layyer,llayer,lyaer
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of layer - 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 “layer”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is L-A-Y-E-R - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /lɛə/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “lye” - see the side-by-side comparison. layer vs lye
- 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.