lesser
less·er/ˈlɛsɚ/adjective
lesser is spelled L-E-S-S-E-R: 6 letters and 2 syllables (less·er). It appears 13 times per million words in written English, the 5,778th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, lesser means “Of two (or, rarely, more than two) things: the smaller in size (littler), in value, in importance etc” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in lesser?
| Letters | 6: L-E-S-S-E-R |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: less·er |
| In writing | 13 times per million words; the 5,778th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is lesser?
Lesser appears 13 times per million words in written English, the 5,778th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce lesser?
- US /ˈlɛsɚ/
- UK /ˈlɛsə/
Lesser has 2 syllables, split less·er in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-lesser.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with lesser?
6 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as lesser from its last stressed vowel (/ɛsəɹ/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
What does lesser mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Of two (or, rarely, more than two) things: the smaller in size (littler), in value, in importance etc.
lesser panda
- 2
that which is of lesser size, quality, degree, or significance; of lower status, importance, or rank
The larger Sand Hill Cranes increasingly do not migrate, but almost all lesser ones do.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Lesser in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense the comparative of little:
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does lesser come from?
From less + -er.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).