LGBT
/ɛl d͡ʒiː biː tiː/
"lgbt" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“LGBT” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #6,704 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.
- #6,704
- frequency rank, English
- 4
- letters
- 7
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Being lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender, or relating to these groups as a collective.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | LGBT |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ɛl d͡ʒiː biː tiː/ |
| Letters | 4 |
| Frequency rank | #6,704 |
| Misspellings tracked | 7 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “LGBT” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for LGBT is 4 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ɛl d͡ʒiː biː tiː/. Corpus data places it at rank #6,704 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "Being lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender, or relating to these groups as a collective.".
Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for LGBT, with forms such as "glbt", "lbgt", and "lgbbt". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "Lt", "lot", "lit", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: Initialism of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or transsexual, derived from earlier LGB. Attested since 1988. Used as a self-designation in United States gay rights activism since about 1990. The correct English form is LGBT, spelled L-G-B-T.
Definition
- 1Being lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender, or relating to these groups as a collective.
Etymology
Initialism of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or transsexual, derived from earlier LGB. Attested since 1988. Used as a self-designation in United States gay rights activism since about 1990.
Synonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: glbt,lbgt,lgbbt,lgbtt,lggbt,lgtb,llgbt
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of LGBT - 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.
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 "LGBT"?
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Using “LGBT”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is L-G-B-T - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ɛl d͡ʒiː biː tiː/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “Lt” - see the side-by-side comparison. LGBT vs Lt
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.