lean-to
/ˈliːnˌtuː/
"lean-to" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“lean-to” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 7
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A shelter with a sloped roof; also a building with a similar construction attached to the side of a building as an extension.
Corpus desk
Index EN-lean-to · lean-to · English
lean-to · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-LONG 7 letters
- VOW-3 3 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 | lean-to |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈliːnˌtuː/ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “lean-to” in English
Rare enough to double-check
lean-to is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈliːnˌtuː/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A shelter with a sloped roof; also a building with a similar construction attached to the side of a building as an extension.".
lean-to doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
Etymologically, the entry records: First attested 1461. The correct English form is lean-to, spelled L-E-A-N---T-O.
Definition
- 1A shelter with a sloped roof; also a building with a similar construction attached to the side of a building as an extension.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how lean-to appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Now we was in the lean-to, and heard trampings close by outside. So we crept to the door, and Tom stopped us there and put his eye to the crack, but couldn't make out nothing, it was so dark
His shirt, an ordinary Crimean flannel, was exquisitely clean, and outside the "lean-to" another was drying on a bush.
Etymology
First attested 1461.
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.