lean

/liːn/

//liːn// verb

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

"lean" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“lean” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #5,705) as a verb. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#5,705
frequency rank, English
2,297
“L” headwords
3
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To incline, deviate, or bend, from a vertical position; to be in a position thus inclining or deviating.

Corpus desk

Index EN-lean · lean · English

lean · rank #5,705 · 3 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #5,705
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-LOW 3 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,297
  • PHOTO-FINISH lakes

Nearest frequency peer: lakes (-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.

Frequency neighbours of confusable “lean”

Peers at similar corpus weight, separate from look-alike pairs below

corpus weight

What this shows Bars place “lean” against nearest ranked English headwords, not a reprint of the confusable-pair desk.

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).

lean vs LN
0% similar
lean vs let
50% similar
lean vs LED
0% similar

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

Key facts for lean
PropertyValue
Headwordlean
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/liːn/
Letters4
Frequency rank#5,705
Misspellings tracked3
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Corpus rank beside confusables of “lean”

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).leanlands 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 “lakes” (#5,704), “lecture” (#5,706), “Kyle” (#5,703). Among 2,297 “L” headwords, “lean” is #5,705. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for lean is neighbouring look-alikes ("LN", "let", …), not just typos; it is averb pronounced /liːn/. Frequency #5,705 among 2,297 “L” headwords. 5 recorded senses keep meaning in play.

Our generated misspelling index lists 3 likely wrong-spelling variants for lean, with forms such as "elan", "leann", and "llean". 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, "LN", "let", "LED", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English lenen (“to lean”), from Old English hleonian, hlinian (“to lean, recline, lie down, rest”), from Proto-West Germanic *hlinēn, from Proto-Germanic *hlināną (“to lean, incline”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱley-. Cognate via Proto-Germanic … The correct English form is lean, spelled L-E-A-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    To incline, deviate, or bend, from a vertical position; to be in a position thus inclining or deviating.
  2. 2
    To incline in opinion or desire; to conform in conduct; often with to, toward, etc.
  3. 3
    To rest or rely, for support, comfort, to use as a hard surface for writing, etc.
  4. 4
    To hang outwards.
  5. 5
    To press against.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how lean appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. a leaning column
  2. She leaned out of the window.

Etymology

From Middle English lenen (“to lean”), from Old English hleonian, hlinian (“to lean, recline, lie down, rest”), from Proto-West Germanic *hlinēn, from Proto-Germanic *hlināną (“to lean, incline”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱley-. Cognate via Proto-Germanic with Middle Dutch leunen (“to lean”), German lehnen (“to lean”); via Proto-Indo-European with climate, cline.

This word in other languages

inclinarse(Español)pencher(Français)lehnen(Deutsch)inclinar(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • elan
  • leann
  • llean

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of lean - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

elan2leann1llean1
Edit distance from "lean"

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 "lean"?
"lean" is spelled L-E-A-N. The IPA pronunciation is /liːn/.
What does "lean" mean?
As a verb, "lean" means: To incline, deviate, or bend, from a vertical position; to be in a position thus inclining or deviating.
What words are commonly confused with "lean"?
"lean" is commonly confused with "LN", "let", "LED". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "lean"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "lean" is /liːn/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "lean"?
From Middle English lenen (“to lean”), from Old English hleonian, hlinian (“to lean, recline, lie down, rest”), from Proto-West Germanic *hlinēn, from Proto-Germanic *hlināną (“to lean, incline”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱley-. Cognate via Proto... See the full etymology section above for more details.
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 "lean", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Kyle#5,703horn#5,689peer#5,722pile#5,725

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list