leathery

/ˈlɛðəɹi/

//ˈlɛðəɹi// adj

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

"leathery" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“leathery” has 12 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #46,026. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#46,026
frequency rank, English
2,297
“L” headwords
12
tracked misspellings
2
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Having the consistency, feel, or texture of leather.

Corpus desk

Index EN-leathery · leathery · English

leathery · rank #46,026 · 12 variants · 2 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #46,026
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 2 pairs
  • VAR-MID 12 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,297
  • PHOTO-FINISH Leclerc

Nearest frequency peer: Leclerc (+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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “leathery”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “leathery” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

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).

leathery vs lather
75% similar
leathery vs leather
88% similar

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

Key facts for leathery
PropertyValue
Headwordleathery
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈlɛðəɹi/
Letters8
Frequency rank#46,026
Misspellings tracked12
Confusable pairs2
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “leathery”

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).leatherylands here:

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “Leclerc” (#46,027), “Layne” (#46,024), “libertarianism” (#46,028). Among 2,297 “L” headwords, “leathery” is #46,026. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 12 spelling variants around leathery (IPA /ˈlɛðəɹi/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #46,026 among 2,297 “L” headwords. Dominant gloss: "Having the consistency, feel, or texture of leather.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for leathery, with forms such as "elathery", "laethery", and "leahtery". 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 2 confusable-pair relationships, "lather", "leather", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From leather + -y. The correct English form is leathery, spelled L-E-A-T-H-E-R-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    Having the consistency, feel, or texture of leather.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. The beef jerky was tough and leathery.
  2. The Agaricales have basidiocarps which are fleshy to subfleshy or rarely, almost leathery (but if the latter then the hymenophore is not poroid).

Etymology

From leather + -y.

This word in other languages

coriáceo(Español)coriace(Français)ledern(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • elathery
  • laethery
  • leahtery
  • leatehry
  • leatherry
  • leatheryy
  • leatheyr
  • leathhery
  • leathrey
  • leatthery
  • letahery
  • lleathery

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

elathery2laethery2leahtery2leatehry2leatherry1leatheryy1leatheyr2leathhery1
Edit distance from "leathery"

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 "leathery"?
"leathery" is spelled L-E-A-T-H-E-R-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈlɛðəɹi/.
What does "leathery" mean?
As an adjective, "leathery" means: Having the consistency, feel, or texture of leather.
What words are commonly confused with "leathery"?
"leathery" is commonly confused with "lather", "leather". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "leathery"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "leathery" is /ˈlɛðəɹi/. 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 "leathery"?
From leather + -y. 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 "leathery", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Malagasy#46,041Javanese#46,003masseuse#46,050Italiano#45,999

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (12 here; floor ≥5).

mnemonic12 variantshighgate12 variantsoverwork12 variantsgatehouse12 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list