leek

/liːk/

//liːk// noun

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

"leek" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“leek” has 5 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #34,158. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#34,158
frequency rank, English
2,297
“L” headwords
5
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A vegetable of variety Allium ampeloprasum, having edible leaves and an onion-like bulb but with a milder flavour than the onion.

Corpus desk

Index EN-leek · leek · English

leek · rank #34,158 · 5 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #34,158
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 5 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,297
  • PHOTO-FINISH leeches

Nearest frequency peer: leeches (-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 “leek”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “leek” 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).

leek vs let
50% similar
leek vs lie
50% similar
leek vs leg
50% similar

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

Key facts for leek
PropertyValue
Headwordleek
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/liːk/
Letters4
Frequency rank#34,158
Misspellings tracked5
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “leek”

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).leeklands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “leeches” (#34,157), “Leviticus” (#34,159), “laminate” (#34,155). Among 2,297 “L” headwords, “leek” is #34,158. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 5 spelling variants around leek (IPA /liːk/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #34,158 among 2,297 “L” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 5 likely wrong-spelling variants for leek, with forms such as "elek", "leekk", and "lek". 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 20 confusable-pair relationships, "let", "lie", "leg", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English leke, leek, lek, from Old English lēac (“a garden herb, leek, onion, garlic”), from Proto-West Germanic *lauk, from Proto-Germanic *lauką *laukaz (“leek, onion”), from Proto-Indo-European *lewg- (“to bend”). Cognate with Dutch look (“gar… The correct English form is leek, spelled L-E-E-K.

Definition

  1. 1
    A vegetable of variety Allium ampeloprasum, having edible leaves and an onion-like bulb but with a milder flavour than the onion.
  2. 2
    Any of several species of Allium, broadly resembling the domesticated plant in appearance in the wild.

Etymology

From Middle English leke, leek, lek, from Old English lēac (“a garden herb, leek, onion, garlic”), from Proto-West Germanic *lauk, from Proto-Germanic *lauką *laukaz (“leek, onion”), from Proto-Indo-European *lewg- (“to bend”). Cognate with Dutch look (“garlic, leek”), German Low German Look (“leek”), German Lauch (“leek, allium”), Danish løg (“onion”), Swedish lök (“onion”), Icelandic laukur (“onion, leek, garlic”). See garlic.

Synonyms

broadleaf wild leekthe Cambrian symbolgarden leekscallion

This word in other languages

puerro(Español)poireau(Français)Porree(Deutsch)porro(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • elek
  • leekk
  • lek
  • leke
  • lleek

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

elek2leekk1lek1leke2lleek1
Edit distance from "leek"

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 "leek"?
"leek" is spelled L-E-E-K. The IPA pronunciation is /liːk/.
What does "leek" mean?
As a noun, "leek" means: A vegetable of variety Allium ampeloprasum, having edible leaves and an onion-like bulb but with a milder flavour than the onion.
What words are commonly confused with "leek"?
"leek" is commonly confused with "let", "lie", "leg". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "leek"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "leek" is /liːk/. 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 "leek"?
From Middle English leke, leek, lek, from Old English lēac (“a garden herb, leek, onion, garlic”), from Proto-West Germanic *lauk, from Proto-Germanic *lauką *laukaz (“leek, onion”), from Proto-Indo-European *lewg- (“to bend”). Cognate with Dutch ... 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 "leek", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

lain#34,154lute#34,168kelp#34,146mala#34,178

Similar misspelling depth

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

Magee5 variantsHesse5 variantshams5 variantssmut5 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list