leash

/liːʃ/

//liːʃ// noun

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

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

The verdict

“leash” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #15,650. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#15,650
frequency rank, English
2,297
“L” headwords
7
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A strap, cord or rope with which to restrain an animal, often a dog.

Corpus desk

Index EN-leash · leash · English

leash · rank #15,650 · 7 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #15,650
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 7 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,297
  • PHOTO-FINISH Leah

Nearest frequency peer: Leah (-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 neighbourhood for “leash”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “leash” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

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).

leash vs les
60% similar
leash vs Leh
40% similar
leash vs less
60% similar

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

Key facts for leash
PropertyValue
Headwordleash
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/liːʃ/
Letters5
Frequency rank#15,650
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “leash” sits in English frequency

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).leash lands here:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 7 spelling variants around leash (IPA /liːʃ/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #15,650 among 2,297 “L” headwords. Wiktionary lists 7 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for leash, with forms such as "elash", "laesh", and "leahs". 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, "les", "Leh", "less", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English leesshe, leysche, lesshe, a variant of more original lease, from Middle English lees, leese, leece, lese, from Old French lesse (modern French laisse), either from Latin laxa, feminine form of laxus (“loose”) or, more probably, from a de… The correct English form is leash, spelled L-E-A-S-H.

Definition

  1. 1
    A strap, cord or rope with which to restrain an animal, often a dog.
  2. 2
    A brace and a half; a tierce.
  3. 3
    A set of three animals (especially greyhounds, foxes, bucks, and hares;)
  4. 4
    A group of three.
  5. 5
    A string with a loop at the end for lifting warp threads, in a loom.
  6. 6
    A leg rope.
  7. 7
    A kind of metrical construct in Skeltonics.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. A stout woman upholstered in velvet, her flabby cheeks too much massaged, swirled by with her poodle straining at its leash
  2. like a fawning greyhound in the leash

Etymology

From Middle English leesshe, leysche, lesshe, a variant of more original lease, from Middle English lees, leese, leece, lese, from Old French lesse (modern French laisse), either from Latin laxa, feminine form of laxus (“loose”) or, more probably, from a deverbal of Old French lesser, laissier, from Latin laxāre (“loose”); compare lax. Doublet of laisse.

This word in other languages

correa(Español)laisse(Français)Leine(Deutsch)guia(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • elash
  • laesh
  • leahs
  • leashh
  • leassh
  • lesah
  • lleash

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of leash - 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.

elash2laesh2leahs2leashh1leassh1lesah2lleash1
Edit distance from "leash"

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.

PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 3, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "leash"?
"leash" is spelled L-E-A-S-H. The IPA pronunciation is /liːʃ/.
What does "leash" mean?
As a noun, "leash" means: A strap, cord or rope with which to restrain an animal, often a dog.
What words are commonly confused with "leash"?
"leash" is commonly confused with "les", "Leh", "less". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "leash"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "leash" is /liːʃ/. 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 "leash"?
From Middle English leesshe, leysche, lesshe, a variant of more original lease, from Middle English lees, leese, leece, lese, from Old French lesse (modern French laisse), either from Latin laxa, feminine form of laxus (“loose”) or, more probably,... 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 "leash", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

mater#15,655guise#15,625grips#15,623graft#15,622

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (7 here; floor ≥5).

manned7 variantspollen7 variantsfunnel7 variantsFreud7 variants

What to do next

You've looked up "leash". Here's where to go from here.

  • "leash" maps to 20 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "les". View pair
  • 7 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
  • Usage frequency rank #15,650 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more English words in the "L" letter cohort. L–Z browse
  • PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

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