leer

/lɪə/

//lɪə// verb

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

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

The verdict

“leer” has 5 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #47,726. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#47,726
frequency rank, English
2,297
“L” headwords
5
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To look sideways or obliquely; now especially with sexual desire or malicious intent.

Corpus desk

Index EN-leer · leer · English

leer · rank #47,726 · 5 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #47,726
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 5 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,297
  • PHOTO-FINISH Laurier

Nearest frequency peer: Laurier (-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 “leer”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “leer” 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).

leer vs LR
0% similar
leer vs let
50% similar
leer vs lie
50% similar

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

Key facts for leer
PropertyValue
Headwordleer
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/lɪə/
Letters4
Frequency rank#47,726
Misspellings tracked5
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “leer”

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).leerlands here:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “Laurier” (#47,725), “legume” (#47,727), “laparoscopic” (#47,724). Among 2,297 “L” headwords, “leer” is #47,726. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 5 spelling variants around leer (IPA /lɪə/), averb. Corpus frequency is #47,726 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 leer, with forms such as "eler", "leerr", and "ler". 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, "LR", "let", "lie", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: Exact development uncertain, but apparently from a verb *leer (“to make a face, look sideways”), from leer (“cheek, face, profile”). The correct English form is leer, spelled L-E-E-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    To look sideways or obliquely; now especially with sexual desire or malicious intent.
  2. 2
    To entice with a leer or leers.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. And she looked to Mr. –––– / And leered like a love-sick pigeon.
  2. I thought I saw him leer in an ugly way at me while the decanters were going round, but as there was no love lost between us, that might easily be.

Etymology

Exact development uncertain, but apparently from a verb *leer (“to make a face, look sideways”), from leer (“cheek, face, profile”).

This word in other languages

lorgner(Français)schielen(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • eler
  • leerr
  • ler
  • lere
  • lleer

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of leer - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

eler2leerr1ler1lere2lleer1
Edit distance from "leer"

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 "leer"?
"leer" is spelled L-E-E-R. The IPA pronunciation is /lɪə/.
What does "leer" mean?
As a verb, "leer" means: To look sideways or obliquely; now especially with sexual desire or malicious intent.
What words are commonly confused with "leer"?
"leer" is commonly confused with "LR", "let", "lie". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "leer"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "leer" is /lɪə/. 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 "leer"?
Exact development uncertain, but apparently from a verb *leer (“to make a face, look sideways”), from leer (“cheek, face, profile”). 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 "leer", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

lipa#47,730inna#47,692nary#47,787nasi#47,788

Similar misspelling depth

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

knell5 variantspert5 variantsfaro5 variantsElam5 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list