least
/liːst/
"least" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“least” is in the everyday core of English, ranked #348 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.
- #348
- frequency rank, English
- 5
- letters
- 7
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Chiefly preceded by the: superlative form of little: most little.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | least |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /liːst/ |
| Letters | 5 |
| Frequency rank | #348 |
| Misspellings tracked | 7 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “least” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for least is 5 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /liːst/. Corpus data places it at rank #348 in overall English word frequency, putting it firmly in the everyday core of the language. Wiktionary records 4 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for least, with forms such as "elast", "laest", and "leasst". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "let", "les", "LST", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.
Etymologically, the entry records: The adjective, determiner, and noun are derived from Middle English leste, lest, last (“(adjective) smallest, least; (noun) smallest thing, etc.; person or thing least in importance; etc.”), from Old English lǣst, a contraction of læsast, læsest (“least”) (… The correct English form is least, spelled L-E-A-S-T.
Definition
- 1Chiefly preceded by the: superlative form of little: most little.
- 2Chiefly preceded by the: superlative form of little: most little.
- 3Chiefly preceded by the: superlative form of little: most little.
- 4Chiefly preceded by the: superlative form of little: most little.
Etymology
The adjective, determiner, and noun are derived from Middle English leste, lest, last (“(adjective) smallest, least; (noun) smallest thing, etc.; person or thing least in importance; etc.”), from Old English lǣst, a contraction of læsast, læsest (“least”) (also lærest in only one source), from Proto-Germanic *laisistaz (“smallest, least”), from *laisiz (“less”) (possibly from Proto-Indo-European *leh₂is- or *leh₃is-; whence modern English less) + *-istaz (“suffix forming superlative forms of some adjectives”). The adverb and pronoun are derived from the adjective or determiner. cognates * Old Frisian leist * Old Saxon lēs
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: elast,laest,leasst,leastt,leats,lesat,lleast
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of least - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
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
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Using “least”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is L-E-A-S-T - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /liːst/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “let” - see the side-by-side comparison. least vs let
- 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.