lease

/liːs/

//liːs// noun

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

"lease" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“lease” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #5,432 in English word frequency and used as a noun.

#5,432
frequency rank, English
5
letters
6
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - An interest in land granting exclusive use or occupation of real estate for a limited period; a leasehold.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

lease vs lee
60% similar
lease vs les
60% similar
lease vs less
60% similar

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

Key facts for lease
PropertyValue
Headwordlease
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/liːs/
Letters5
Frequency rank#5,432
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “lease” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). lease lands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for lease is 5 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /liːs/. Corpus data places it at rank #5,432 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 6 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for lease, with forms such as "elase", "laese", and "leaes". 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, "lee", "les", "less", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English *lesen, from Anglo-Norman *leser, Old French lesser, laisier (“to let, let go”), partly from Latin laxō (“to loose”) and partly from Old High German lāzan (“to let, let go, release”) (German lassen), cognate with Old English lǣtan (“to a… The correct English form is lease, spelled L-E-A-S-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    An interest in land granting exclusive use or occupation of real estate for a limited period; a leasehold.
  2. 2
    An interest granting exclusive use of any thing, such as a car or boat.
  3. 3
    The contract or deed under which such an interest is granted.
  4. 4
    The document containing such a contract or deed.
  5. 5
    The period of such an interest.
  6. 6
    The temporary assignment of an IP address to a networked device.

Etymology

From Middle English *lesen, from Anglo-Norman *leser, Old French lesser, laisier (“to let, let go”), partly from Latin laxō (“to loose”) and partly from Old High German lāzan (“to let, let go, release”) (German lassen), cognate with Old English lǣtan (“to allow, let go, leave, rent”) whence let.

Synonyms

tenancyletting

This word in other languages

arrendamiento(Español)bail(Français)Pacht(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: elase,laese,leaes,leasse,lesae,llease

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of lease - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

elase2laese2leaes2leasse1lesae2llease1
Edit distance from "lease"

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 "lease"?
"lease" is spelled L-E-A-S-E. The IPA pronunciation is /liːs/.
What does "lease" mean?
As a noun, "lease" means: An interest in land granting exclusive use or occupation of real estate for a limited period; a leasehold.
What words are commonly confused with "lease"?
"lease" is commonly confused with "lee", "les", "less". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "lease"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "lease" is /liːs/. 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 "lease"?
From Middle English *lesen, from Anglo-Norman *leser, Old French lesser, laisier (“to let, let go”), partly from Latin laxō (“to loose”) and partly from Old High German lāzan (“to let, let go, release”) (German lassen), cognate with Old English lǣ... 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.

Using “lease”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is L-E-A-S-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /liːs/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “lee” - see the side-by-side comparison. lease vs lee
  • 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list