legume

/ˈlɛɡ.juːm/

//ˈlɛɡ.juːm// noun

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

"legume" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“legume” has 8 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #47,727. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#47,727
frequency rank, English
2,297
“L” headwords
8
tracked misspellings
3
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The fruit or seed of leguminous plants (as peas or beans) used for food.

Corpus desk

Index EN-legume · legume · English

legume · rank #47,727 · 8 variants · 3 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #47,727
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 3 pairs
  • VAR-MID 8 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,297
  • PHOTO-FINISH leer

Nearest frequency peer: leer (-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 “legume”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “legume” 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).

legume vs lemme
67% similar
legume vs legumes
86% similar
legume vs league
67% similar

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

Key facts for legume
PropertyValue
Headwordlegume
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈlɛɡ.juːm/
Letters6
Frequency rank#47,727
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs3
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “legume”

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).legumelands 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 “leer” (#47,726), “Laurier” (#47,725), “linesman” (#47,729). Among 2,297 “L” headwords, “legume” is #47,727. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 8 spelling variants around legume (IPA /ˈlɛɡ.juːm/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #47,727 among 2,297 “L” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for legume, with forms such as "elgume", "leggume", and "legmue". 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 3 confusable-pair relationships, "lemme", "legumes", "league", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from French légume, from Latin legūmen (“bean”). Doublet of legumen. The correct English form is legume, spelled L-E-G-U-M-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    The fruit or seed of leguminous plants (as peas or beans) used for food.
  2. 2
    Any of a large family (Fabaceae, syn. Leguminosae) of dicotyledonous herbs, shrubs, and trees having fruits that are legumes or loments, bearing nodules on the roots that contain nitrogen-fixing bacteria, and including important food and forage plants (as peas, beans, or clovers).
  3. 3
    A pod dehiscent into two pieces or valves, and having the seed attached at one suture, as that of the pea.

Etymology

Borrowed from French légume, from Latin legūmen (“bean”). Doublet of legumen.

Synonyms

legumenlegume

This word in other languages

legumbre(Español)gousse(Français)Hülsenfrucht(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • elgume
  • leggume
  • legmue
  • leguem
  • legumme
  • leugme
  • lgeume
  • llegume

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

elgume2leggume1legmue2leguem2legumme1leugme2lgeume2llegume1
Edit distance from "legume"

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 "legume"?
"legume" is spelled L-E-G-U-M-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈlɛɡ.juːm/.
What does "legume" mean?
As a noun, "legume" means: The fruit or seed of leguminous plants (as peas or beans) used for food.
What words are commonly confused with "legume"?
"legume" is commonly confused with "lemme", "legumes", "league". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "legume"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "legume" is /ˈlɛɡ.juːm/. 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 "legume"?
Borrowed from French légume, from Latin legūmen (“bean”). Doublet of legumen. 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 "legume", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Ladakh#47,722lunged#47,737madder#47,738malign#47,740

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (8 here; floor ≥5).

kabuki8 variantsjuiced8 variantsJolene8 variantsmarque8 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list