lettuce

/ˈlɛt.ɪs/

//ˈlɛt.ɪs// noun

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

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

The verdict

“lettuce” has 8 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #13,748. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#13,748
frequency rank, English
2,297
“L” headwords
8
tracked misspellings
2
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - An edible plant, Lactuca sativa and its close relatives, having a head of green or purple leaves.

Corpus desk

Index EN-lettuce · lettuce · English

lettuce · rank #13,748 · 8 variants · 2 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #13,748
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 2 pairs
  • VAR-MID 8 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,297
  • PHOTO-FINISH Lennon

Nearest frequency peer: Lennon (-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 “lettuce”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “lettuce” 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).

lettuce vs lecture
71% similar
lettuce vs lattice
71% similar

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

Key facts for lettuce
PropertyValue
Headwordlettuce
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈlɛt.ɪs/
Letters7
Frequency rank#13,748
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs2
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “lettuce”

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).lettucelands 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 “Lennon” (#13,747), “lithium” (#13,750), “leafs” (#13,745). Among 2,297 “L” headwords, “lettuce” is #13,748. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 8 spelling variants around lettuce (IPA /ˈlɛt.ɪs/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #13,748 among 2,297 “L” headwords. Wiktionary lists 6 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for lettuce, with forms such as "elttuce", "lettcue", and "lettucce". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 2 confusable-pair relationships, "lecture", "lattice", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English letuse, of uncertain precise origin, probably from the plural form Old French laitues, derived from Latin lactūca (“lettuce”), from lac (“milk”), because of the milky fluid in its stalks. Replaced Old English lēahtric. (money): Likely fr… The correct English form is lettuce, spelled L-E-T-T-U-C-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    An edible plant, Lactuca sativa and its close relatives, having a head of green or purple leaves.
  2. 2
    The leaves of the lettuce plant, eaten as a vegetable; as a dish often mixed with other ingredients, dressing etc.
  3. 3
    United States paper currency; dollars.
  4. 4
    A strong yellow-green color, like that of lettuce (also called lettuce green).
  5. 5
    Marijuana.
  6. 6
    Long, curly hair, as worn by followers of bro culture.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. I’ll have a ham sandwich with lettuce and tomato.
  2. To steady himself he counts the money left in his wallet. Seventy-three; today was payday. Fingering so much lettuce strengthens his nerves.

Etymology

From Middle English letuse, of uncertain precise origin, probably from the plural form Old French laitues, derived from Latin lactūca (“lettuce”), from lac (“milk”), because of the milky fluid in its stalks. Replaced Old English lēahtric. (money): Likely from the green color of US banknotes.

This word in other languages

lechuga(Español)laitue(Français)Gartensalat(Deutsch)alface(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • elttuce
  • lettcue
  • lettucce
  • lettuec
  • letuce
  • letutce
  • llettuce
  • ltetuce

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

elttuce2lettcue2lettucce1lettuec2letuce1letutce2llettuce1ltetuce2
Edit distance from "lettuce"

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 "lettuce"?
"lettuce" is spelled L-E-T-T-U-C-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈlɛt.ɪs/.
What does "lettuce" mean?
As a noun, "lettuce" means: An edible plant, Lactuca sativa and its close relatives, having a head of green or purple leaves.
What words are commonly confused with "lettuce"?
"lettuce" is commonly confused with "lecture", "lattice". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "lettuce"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "lettuce" is /ˈlɛt.ɪs/. 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 "lettuce"?
From Middle English letuse, of uncertain precise origin, probably from the plural form Old French laitues, derived from Latin lactūca (“lettuce”), from lac (“milk”), because of the milky fluid in its stalks. Replaced Old English lēahtric. (money):... 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 "lettuce", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

lithium#13,750glitter#13,728Fleming#13,719fencing#13,716

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (8 here; floor ≥5).

Malone8 variantsinduce8 variantspsalm8 variantsdocks8 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list