lemon

/ˈlɛmən/

//ˈlɛmən// noun

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

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

The verdict

“lemon” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #6,066 in English word frequency and used as a noun.

#6,066
frequency rank, English
5
letters
7
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A yellowish citrus fruit.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

lemon vs leo
60% similar
lemon vs Len
40% similar
lemon vs Lon
40% similar

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

Key facts for lemon
PropertyValue
Headwordlemon
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈlɛmən/
Letters5
Frequency rank#6,066
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “lemon” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). lemon lands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for lemon is 5 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈlɛmən/. Corpus data places it at rank #6,066 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 9 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for lemon, with forms such as "elmon", "lemmon", and "lemno". 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, "leo", "Len", "Lon", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: Etymology tree Arabic ليمونbor. Old French lymonbor. Middle English lymon English lemon Inherited from Middle English lymon, from Old French lymon (“citrus”), from Arabic لَيْمُون (laymūn) or Persian لیمون (limon), from Persian لیمو (limu), from Sanskrit नि… The correct English form is lemon, spelled L-E-M-O-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    A yellowish citrus fruit.
  2. 2
    A semitropical evergreen tree, Citrus limon, that bears such fruits.
  3. 3
    A more or less bright shade of yellow associated with lemon fruits.
  4. 4
    Lemon juice.
  5. 5
    A lemon shark (Negaprion brevirostris).
  6. 6
    A defective or inadequate item or individual.
  7. 7
    Favor.
  8. 8
    A piece of fanfiction involving explicit sex.
  9. 9
    The surface of revolution of a circular arc of angle less than 180° rotated about the straight line passing through the arc’s two endpoints.

Etymology

Etymology tree Arabic ليمونbor. Old French lymonbor. Middle English lymon English lemon Inherited from Middle English lymon, from Old French lymon (“citrus”), from Arabic لَيْمُون (laymūn) or Persian لیمون (limon), from Persian لیمو (limu), from Sanskrit निम्बू (nimbū, “lime”), ultimately from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *limaw or Munda. Likely a doublet of lime. The fandom sense is named after the erotic anime series Cream Lemon.

Synonyms

bombPWPsmutficlemon yellow

This word in other languages

limón(Español)citron(Français)Zitrone(Deutsch)limão(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: elmon,lemmon,lemno,lemonn,leomn,llemon,lmeon

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

elmon2lemmon1lemno2lemonn1leomn2llemon1lmeon2
Edit distance from "lemon"

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 "lemon"?
"lemon" is spelled L-E-M-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈlɛmən/.
What does "lemon" mean?
As a noun, "lemon" means: A yellowish citrus fruit.
What words are commonly confused with "lemon"?
"lemon" is commonly confused with "leo", "Len", "Lon". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "lemon"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "lemon" is /ˈlɛmən/. 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 "lemon"?
Etymology tree Arabic ليمونbor. Old French lymonbor. Middle English lymon English lemon Inherited from Middle English lymon, from Old French lymon (“citrus”), from Arabic لَيْمُون (laymūn) or Persian لیمون (limon), from Persian لیمو (limu), from S... 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.

Using “lemon”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is L-E-M-O-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /ˈlɛmən/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “leo” - see the side-by-side comparison. lemon vs leo
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list