lexis
/ˈlɛksɪs/noun
lexis is spelled L-E-X-I-S: 5 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 4 million words in written English, the 56,108th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data, counting Lexis, the name). As a noun, lexis means “The set of all words and phrases in a language; any unified subset of words from a particular language” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of lexis is lexises or lexes.
How many letters and syllables are in lexis?
| Letters | 5: L-E-X-I-S |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 4 million words; the 56,108th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; 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 lexis?
Lexis appears about once in every 4 million words in written English, the 56,108th most frequent word form in the list. The list counts every capitalisation together, so this includes Lexis, the name.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce lexis?
- UK /ˈlɛksɪs/
Lexis has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-lexis.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with lexis?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as lexis (/ɛksɪs/).
Spelled with the same letters in another order: silex.
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).
Forms of lexis
- lexises plural
- lexes plural
- lexeis plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does lexis mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The set of all words and phrases in a language; any unified subset of words from a particular language.
- 2
Words, collocations, and common phrases in a language; vocabulary and word combinations.
- 3
The vocabulary used by a writer.
In this broadsheet newspaper, the reporter uses a complicated and formal lexis which I find hard to understand.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Where does lexis come from?
Learned borrowing from Ancient Greek λέξις (léxis, “speech, word”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).