leatherback

/ˈlɛ.ðɚ.bæk/

//ˈlɛ.ðɚ.bæk// noun

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

"leatherback" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“leatherback” is uncommon English (frequency #88,529 among 2,297 “L” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#88,529
frequency rank, English
2,297
“L” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Any of species Dermochelys coriacea, of large sea turtles, with leathery backs.

Corpus desk

Index EN-leatherback · leatherback · English

leatherback · rank #88,529 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #88,529
  • LEN-MEGA 11 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,297
  • PHOTO-FINISH leafless

Nearest frequency peer: leafless (-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.

Long-tail ranks near “leatherback”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “leatherback” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for leatherback
PropertyValue
Headwordleatherback
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈlɛ.ðɚ.bæk/
Letters11
Frequency rank#88,529
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “leatherback” in English

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).leatherbackfalls in this rarity band:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Rare peers in the same band: “leafless” (#88,528), “lari” (#88,527), “labile” (#88,525). Among 2,297 “L” headwords, “leatherback” is #88,529. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

leatherback is uncommon English at frequency #88,529 among 2,297 “L” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈlɛ.ðɚ.bæk/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

No generated misspelling entries exist for leatherback in our index, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. Our dataset records no confusable match here, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: From leather + back. The correct English form is leatherback, spelled L-E-A-T-H-E-R-B-A-C-K.

Definition

  1. 1
    Any of species Dermochelys coriacea, of large sea turtles, with leathery backs.
  2. 2
    A lesser queenfish (Scomberoides lysan).

Etymology

From leather + back.

This word in other languages

tortue luth(Français)

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 "leatherback"?
"leatherback" is spelled L-E-A-T-H-E-R-B-A-C-K. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈlɛ.ðɚ.bæk/.
What does "leatherback" mean?
As a noun, "leatherback" means: Any of species Dermochelys coriacea, of large sea turtles, with leathery backs.
How do you pronounce "leatherback"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "leatherback" is /ˈlɛ.ðɚ.bæk/. 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 "leatherback"?
From leather + back. 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 "leatherback", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 11 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

incorporeal#88,461immortalize#88,454headbanging#88,416narratively#88,645

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list