leather

/ˈlɛðə/

//ˈlɛðə// noun

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

"leather" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“leather” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #3,957 in English word frequency and used as a noun.

#3,957
frequency rank, English
7
letters
10
tracked misspellings
14
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A tough material produced from the skin of animals, by tanning or similar process, used e.g. for clothing; often denotes leather from cattle when no qualifier specifies otherwise.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

leather vs letter
71% similar
leather vs Luther
57% similar
leather vs Lester
57% similar

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

Key facts for leather
PropertyValue
Headwordleather
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈlɛðə/
Letters7
Frequency rank#3,957
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs14
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “leather” 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). leather 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 leather is 7 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈlɛðə/. Corpus data places it at rank #3,957 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 8 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for leather, with forms such as "elather", "laether", and "leahter". 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 14 confusable-pair relationships, "letter", "Luther", "Lester", 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 lether, from Old English leþer (“leather”), from Proto-West Germanic *leþr, from Proto-Germanic *leþrą (“leather”), possibly borrowed from Proto-Celtic *ɸlitrom, *letros, from Proto-Indo-European *pl̥tro-. Cognate with West Frisian leare… The correct English form is leather, spelled L-E-A-T-H-E-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    A tough material produced from the skin of animals, by tanning or similar process, used e.g. for clothing; often denotes leather from cattle when no qualifier specifies otherwise.
  2. 2
    A piece of the above used for polishing.
  3. 3
    A cricket ball or football.
  4. 4
    clothing made from the skin of animals, often worn by motorcycle riders.
  5. 5
    A good defensive play
  6. 6
    A punch.
  7. 7
    The skin.
  8. 8
    Clipping of fruit leather.

Etymology

From Middle English lether, from Old English leþer (“leather”), from Proto-West Germanic *leþr, from Proto-Germanic *leþrą (“leather”), possibly borrowed from Proto-Celtic *ɸlitrom, *letros, from Proto-Indo-European *pl̥tro-. Cognate with West Frisian leare (“leather”), Low German Leder (“leather”), Dutch leder, leer (“leather”), German Leder (“leather”), Danish læder (“leather”), Swedish läder (“leather”), Icelandic leður (“leather”).

This word in other languages

cuero(Español)cuir(Français)Leder(Deutsch)couro(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: elather,laether,leahter,leatehr,leatherr,leathher,leathre,leatther,letaher,lleather

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

elather2laether2leahter2leatehr2leatherr1leathher1leathre2leatther1
Edit distance from "leather"

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 "leather"?
"leather" is spelled L-E-A-T-H-E-R. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈlɛðə/.
What does "leather" mean?
As a noun, "leather" means: A tough material produced from the skin of animals, by tanning or similar process, used e.g. for clothing; often denotes leather from cattle when no qualifier specifies otherwise.
What words are commonly confused with "leather"?
"leather" is commonly confused with "letter", "Luther", "Lester". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "leather"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "leather" is /ˈlɛðə/. 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 "leather"?
From Middle English lether, from Old English leþer (“leather”), from Proto-West Germanic *leþr, from Proto-Germanic *leþrą (“leather”), possibly borrowed from Proto-Celtic *ɸlitrom, *letros, from Proto-Indo-European *pl̥tro-. Cognate with West Fri... 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 “leather”

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

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