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” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #6,066. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#6,066
frequency rank, English
2,297
“L” headwords
7
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A yellowish citrus fruit.

Corpus desk

Index EN-lemon · lemon · English

lemon · rank #6,066 · 7 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #6,066
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 7 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,297
  • PHOTO-FINISH laughter

Nearest frequency peer: laughter (-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 “lemon”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “lemon” 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).

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)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “lemon”

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

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “laughter” (#6,065), “les” (#6,067), “jurisdiction” (#6,064). Among 2,297 “L” headwords, “lemon” is #6,066. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 7 spelling variants around lemon (IPA /ˈlɛmən/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #6,066 among 2,297 “L” headwords. Wiktionary lists 9 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

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.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. The juice of Lemmons killeth Warts, but better the water of the ſame juice, diſtilled through a glaſs.
  2. [J]uſt at the laſt ſcald four or five ſpoonfuls of thick new cream, with a few drops of lemon or vinegar, muſhrooms pickled do well, […]

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.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "lemon", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

outta#6,079fatal#6,051polls#6,081draws#6,047

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (7 here; floor ≥5).

tales7 variantsvoter7 variantspotter7 variantsedges7 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list