leave

/liːv/

//liːv// verb

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

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

The verdict

“leave” has 6 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #457. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#457
frequency rank, English
2,297
“L” headwords
6
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To have a consequence or remnant.

Corpus desk

Index EN-leave · leave · English

leave · rank #457 · 6 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-CORE #457
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 6 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,297
  • PHOTO-FINISH late

Nearest frequency peer: late (-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 “leave”

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

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “leave” 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).

leave vs lee
60% similar
leave vs lev
60% similar
leave vs love
60% similar

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

Key facts for leave
PropertyValue
Headwordleave
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/liːv/
Letters5
Frequency rank#457
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “leave” sits in English frequency

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).leavelands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “late” (#456), “north” (#458), “data” (#455). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 6 spelling variants around leave (IPA /liːv/), averb. Corpus frequency is #457 among 2,297 “L” headwords. Wiktionary lists 14 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for leave, with forms such as "elave", "laeve", and "leaev". 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, "lee", "lev", "love", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English leven, from Old English lǣfan (“to leave”), from Proto-West Germanic *laibijan, from Proto-Germanic *laibijaną (“to let stay, leave”), causative of *lībaną (“to stay, remain”), from Proto-Indo-European *leyp- (“to stick; fat”). Cognate w… The correct English form is leave, spelled L-E-A-V-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    To have a consequence or remnant.
  2. 2
    To have a consequence or remnant.
  3. 3
    To have a consequence or remnant.
  4. 4
    To depart; to separate from.
  5. 5
    To depart; to separate from.
  6. 6
    To depart; to separate from.
  7. 7
    To depart; to separate from.
  8. 8
    To depart; to separate from.
  9. 9
    To depart; to separate from.
  10. 10
    To transfer something.
  11. 11
    To transfer something.
  12. 12
    To transfer something.
  13. 13
    To remain (behind); to stay.
  14. 14
    To stop, desist from; to "leave off" (+ noun / gerund).

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. I left my car at home and took a bus to work.
  2. The ants did not leave so much as a crumb of bread.

Etymology

From Middle English leven, from Old English lǣfan (“to leave”), from Proto-West Germanic *laibijan, from Proto-Germanic *laibijaną (“to let stay, leave”), causative of *lībaną (“to stay, remain”), from Proto-Indo-European *leyp- (“to stick; fat”). Cognate with Old Frisian lēva (“to leave”), Old Saxon lēvian, Old High German leiban (“to leave”), Old Norse leifa (“to leave over”) (whence Icelandic leifa (“to leave food uneaten”), Swedish leva (“to leave”)), lifna (“to be left”) (whence Danish levne). More at lave, belive. The noun is attested since the 19th century, with earliest references to billiards.

Synonyms

beat itbug offremovebugger offbookbouncebuzz offchuckcut one's stickdashdepartduck outexitget awayget outgogo awaygo outGTFOleavemake tracksmove onnamouspartpiss offpull up stakesput outstartstart outset forthset offset outrun alongsling one's hooksplittake offtake leavetake one's leavetake wingquit

Antonyms

kick outremainresidesojourntarry

This word in other languages

dejar(Español)laisser(Français)lassen(Deutsch)deixar(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • elave
  • laeve
  • leaev
  • leavve
  • levae
  • lleave

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of leave - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

elave2laeve2leaev2leavve1levae2lleave1
Edit distance from "leave"

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 "leave"?
"leave" is spelled L-E-A-V-E. The IPA pronunciation is /liːv/.
What does "leave" mean?
As a verb, "leave" means: To have a consequence or remnant.
What words are commonly confused with "leave"?
"leave" is commonly confused with "lee", "lev", "love". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "leave"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "leave" is /liːv/. 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 "leave"?
From Middle English leven, from Old English lǣfan (“to leave”), from Proto-West Germanic *laibijan, from Proto-Germanic *laibijaną (“to let stay, leave”), causative of *lībaną (“to stay, remain”), from Proto-Indo-European *leyp- (“to stick; fat”).... 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 "leave", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

north#458watch#461woman#452won't#462

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (6 here; floor ≥5).

happy6 variantsstay6 variantscause6 variantsclass6 variants

What to do next

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

  • "leave" maps to 20 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "lee". View pair
  • 6 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
  • Usage frequency rank #457 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