leopard

/ˈlɛp.əd/

//ˈlɛp.əd// noun

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

"leopard" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“leopard” has 10 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #13,186. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#13,186
frequency rank, English
2,297
“L” headwords
10
tracked misspellings
5
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Panthera pardus, a large wild cat with a spotted coat native to Africa and Asia, especially the male of the species (in contrast to leopardess).

Corpus desk

Index EN-leopard · leopard · English

leopard · rank #13,186 · 10 variants · 5 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #13,186
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 5 pairs
  • VAR-MID 10 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,297
  • PHOTO-FINISH Kurdish

Nearest frequency peer: Kurdish (-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 “leopard”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “leopard” 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).

leopard vs Leopold
57% similar
leopard vs Leonard
71% similar
leopard vs Lampard
57% similar

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

Key facts for leopard
PropertyValue
Headwordleopard
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈlɛp.əd/
Letters7
Frequency rank#13,186
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs5
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “leopard”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).leopardlands 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 “Kurdish” (#13,185), “librarian” (#13,187), “lobbying” (#13,188). Among 2,297 “L” headwords, “leopard” is #13,186. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 10 spelling variants around leopard (IPA /ˈlɛp.əd/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #13,186 among 2,297 “L” headwords. Wiktionary lists 6 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for leopard, with forms such as "elopard", "leoaprd", and "leopadr". 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 5 confusable-pair relationships, "Leopold", "Leonard", "Lampard", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English leopard, leopart, lepard, leperd, from Old French leopard (“leopard”), from Late Latin leopardus (“leopon, lipard”) from late Ancient Greek λεόπαρδος (leópardos, “leopon, lipard”), from λέων (léōn, “lion”) + πάρδος (párdos, “pard, male l… The correct English form is leopard, spelled L-E-O-P-A-R-D.

Definition

  1. 1
    Panthera pardus, a large wild cat with a spotted coat native to Africa and Asia, especially the male of the species (in contrast to leopardess).
  2. 2
    A similar-looking, large wild cat named after the leopard.
  3. 3
    A similar-looking, large wild cat named after the leopard.
  4. 4
    A similar-looking, large wild cat named after the leopard.
  5. 5
    A lion passant guardant.
  6. 6
    Any of various nymphalid butterflies of the genus Phalanta, having black markings on an orange base.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. During all such cases when we were present they responded by giving repeated alarm calls, even when the leopard was already feeding on a carcass. We wanted to determine whether vervets knew enough about the behavior of leopards to recognize that, even in the absence of a leopard, a carcass in a tree signaled the same potential danger as did a leopard itself.
  2. The leopard (Panthera pardus or Felis pardus cf tulliana) is a close relative of the lion, but biblical references mentioning it are very few, suggesting that it was not as common.

Etymology

From Middle English leopard, leopart, lepard, leperd, from Old French leopard (“leopard”), from Late Latin leopardus (“leopon, lipard”) from late Ancient Greek λεόπαρδος (leópardos, “leopon, lipard”), from λέων (léōn, “lion”) + πάρδος (párdos, “pard, male leopard”), from earlier πάρδαλις (párdalis, “leopard”), probably from an unattested Old Persian [Term?] term ancestral to Middle Persian palang, Khwarezmian plyk, Sogdian [script needed] (pwrδnk), Pashto پړانګ (pṛāng). Compare Persian پلنگ (palang) and Sanskrit पृदाकु (pṛdāku, “panther”).

Synonyms

common leopardpardpardalclouded leopardsnow leopard

This word in other languages

leopardo(Español)léopard(Français)Leopard(Deutsch)leopardo(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • elopard
  • leoaprd
  • leopadr
  • leopardd
  • leoparrd
  • leoppard
  • leoprad
  • lepoard
  • lleopard
  • loepard

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

elopard2leoaprd2leopadr2leopardd1leoparrd1leoppard1leoprad2lepoard2
Edit distance from "leopard"

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 "leopard"?
"leopard" is spelled L-E-O-P-A-R-D. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈlɛp.əd/.
What does "leopard" mean?
As a noun, "leopard" means: Panthera pardus, a large wild cat with a spotted coat native to Africa and Asia, especially the male of the species (in contrast to leopardess).
What words are commonly confused with "leopard"?
"leopard" is commonly confused with "Leopold", "Leonard", "Lampard". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "leopard"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "leopard" is /ˈlɛp.əd/. 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 "leopard"?
From Middle English leopard, leopart, lepard, leperd, from Old French leopard (“leopard”), from Late Latin leopardus (“leopon, lipard”) from late Ancient Greek λεόπαρδος (leópardos, “leopon, lipard”), from λέων (léōn, “lion”) + πάρδος (párdos, “pa... 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 "leopard", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Kurdish#13,185Karachi#13,183marital#13,193insults#13,176

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (10 here; floor ≥5).

nucleus10 variantshappiest10 variantsHalifax10 variantsorbital10 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list