lemongrass

noun

"lemongrass" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“lemongrass” is uncommon English (frequency #57,516 among 2,297 “L” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#57,516
frequency rank, English
2,297
“L” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - One of various species of grass of the genus Cymbopogon, especially Cymbopogon citratus, which have a lemon-like taste and aroma, and are used in cooking, for tea, and for fragrance.

Corpus desk

Index EN-lemongrass · lemongrass · English

lemongrass · rank #57,516 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #57,516
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,297
  • PHOTO-FINISH leucine

Nearest frequency peer: leucine (+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.

Long-tail ranks near “lemongrass”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “lemongrass” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for lemongrass
PropertyValue
Headwordlemongrass
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters10
Frequency rank#57,516
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “lemongrass” in English

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).lemongrassfalls in this rarity band:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Rare peers in the same band: “leucine” (#57,517), “legalise” (#57,514), “leant” (#57,513). Among 2,297 “L” headwords, “lemongrass” is #57,516. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

lemongrass is uncommon English at frequency #57,516 among 2,297 “L” headwords, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for lemongrass, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

Etymologically, the entry records: From lemon + grass. The correct English form is lemongrass, spelled L-E-M-O-N-G-R-A-S-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    One of various species of grass of the genus Cymbopogon, especially Cymbopogon citratus, which have a lemon-like taste and aroma, and are used in cooking, for tea, and for fragrance.
  2. 2
    Sourgrass, Oxalis pes-caprae.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. You could just use ordinary shop-bought kecap manis to marinade the meat, but making your own is easy, has a far more elegant fragrance and is, above all, such a great brag! Flavouring kecap manis is an intensely personal thing, so try this version now and next time cook the sauce down with crushed, split lemongrass and a shredded lime leaf.

Etymology

From lemon + grass.

This word in other languages

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 "lemongrass"?
"lemongrass" is spelled L-E-M-O-N-G-R-A-S-S.
What does "lemongrass" mean?
As a noun, "lemongrass" means: One of various species of grass of the genus Cymbopogon, especially Cymbopogon citratus, which have a lemon-like taste and aroma, and are used in cooking, for tea, and for fragrance.
What is the origin of the word "lemongrass"?
From lemon + grass. 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 "lemongrass", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 10 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list