laying

/ˈleɪ.ɪŋ/

//ˈleɪ.ɪŋ// verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"laying" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“laying” has 9 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #5,514. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#5,514
frequency rank, English
2,297
“L” headwords
9
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - present participle and gerund of lay

Corpus desk

Index EN-laying · laying · English

laying · rank #5,514 · 9 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #5,514
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 9 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,297
  • PHOTO-FINISH kicking

Nearest frequency peer: kicking (-1 rank slots)

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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “laying”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “laying” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

laying vs lying
83% similar
laying vs Layne
50% similar
laying vs living
67% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for laying
PropertyValue
Headwordlaying
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/ˈleɪ.ɪŋ/
Letters6
Frequency rank#5,514
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “laying”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).layinglands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “kicking” (#5,513), “legislature” (#5,515), “Iranian” (#5,512). Among 2,297 “L” headwords, “laying” is #5,514. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 9 spelling variants around laying (IPA /ˈleɪ.ɪŋ/), averb. Corpus frequency is #5,514 among 2,297 “L” headwords. Dominant gloss: "present participle and gerund of lay".

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for laying, with forms such as "alying", "laiyng", and "layign". 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, "lying", "Layne", "living", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

No borrowing history is documented for this entry, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct English form is laying, spelled L-A-Y-I-N-G.

Definition

  1. 1
    present participle and gerund of lay

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • alying
  • laiyng
  • layign
  • layingg
  • layinng
  • laynig
  • layying
  • llaying
  • lyaing

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of laying - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

alying2laiyng2layign2layingg1layinng1laynig2layying1llaying1
Edit distance from "laying"

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 "laying"?
"laying" is spelled L-A-Y-I-N-G. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈleɪ.ɪŋ/.
What does "laying" mean?
As a verb, "laying" means: present participle and gerund of lay
What words are commonly confused with "laying"?
"laying" is commonly confused with "lying", "Layne", "living". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "laying"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "laying" is /ˈleɪ.ɪŋ/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "laying" come from?
"laying" is a English word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "laying", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

marvel#5,521Hitler#5,502hammer#5,501parade#5,528

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (9 here; floor ≥5).

Iranian9 variantsMichelle9 variantsplanes9 variantsdeadly9 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list