leader
/ˈli.dɚ/noun
leader is spelled L-E-A-D-E-R: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 89 times per million words in written English, the 1,191st most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, leader means “Any person who leads or directs” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of leader is leaders.
How many letters and syllables are in leader?
| Letters | 6: L-E-A-D-E-R |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 89 times per million words; the 1,191st most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none 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 leader?
Leader appears 89 times per million words in written English, the 1,191st 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 leader?
- UK /ˈliː.də(ɹ)/
- US /ˈli.dɚ/
- US [ˈli.ɾɚ]
Leader 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-leader.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with leader?
4 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as leader from its last stressed vowel (/idəɹ/):
Spelled with the same letters in another order: dealer, redeal.
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 leader
- leaders plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does leader mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Any person who leads or directs.
- 2
One who goes first.
Follow the leader.
- 3
One having authority to direct.
We elected her team leader.
- 4
One who leads a political party or group of elected party members; sometimes used in titles.
Leader of the House of Commons
- 5
A person or organization that leads in a certain field in terms of excellence, success, etc.
The company is the leader in home remodeling in the county.
- 6
A performer who leads a band, choir, or a section of an orchestra.
- 7
UKThe first violin in a symphony orchestra; the concertmaster.
- 8
The dominant animal in a pack of animals, such as wolves or lions.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Leader in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense one having authority:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | chef, leader, dirigeant, chef de file |
| German | Anführer, Anführerin, Leiter, Hauptmann, Kopf, Führer |
| Portuguese | líder, chefe |
| Spanish | líder, dirigente, caudillo |
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 leader come from?
Inherited from Middle English ledere, from Old English lǣdere, from Proto-West Germanic *laidijārī, from *laidī (“leading, leadership”) + *-ārī, or from *laid (“leading”) + *-ārī. By surface analysis, lead + -er.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).