library

/ˈlaɪ.bɹi/

//ˈlaɪ.bɹi// noun

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

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

The verdict

“library” has 11 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #1,459. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#1,459
frequency rank, English
2,297
“L” headwords
11
tracked misspellings
2
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - An institution which holds books and/or other forms of media for use by the public or qualified people often lending them out, as well as providing various other services for its users.

Corpus desk

Index EN-library · library · English

library · rank #1,459 · 11 variants · 2 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #1,459
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 2 pairs
  • VAR-MID 11 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,297
  • PHOTO-FINISH interview

Nearest frequency peer: interview (-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 “library”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “library” 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).

library vs literary
75% similar
library vs libra
71% similar

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

Key facts for library
PropertyValue
Headwordlibrary
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈlaɪ.bɹi/
Letters7
Frequency rank#1,459
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs2
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “library”

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).librarylands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “interview” (#1,458), “located” (#1,460), “highest” (#1,457). Among 2,297 “L” headwords, “library” is #1,459. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 11 spelling variants around library (IPA /ˈlaɪ.bɹi/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #1,459 among 2,297 “L” headwords. Wiktionary lists 8 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for library, with forms such as "ilbrary", "lbirary", and "libarry". 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, "literary", "libra", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English librarie, from Anglo-Norman librarie, from Old French librairie, from Latin librarium (“bookcase, chest for books”), from librarius (“concerning books”), from liber (“the inner bark of trees; paper, parchment, book”), probably derived fr… The correct English form is library, spelled L-I-B-R-A-R-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    An institution which holds books and/or other forms of media for use by the public or qualified people often lending them out, as well as providing various other services for its users.
  2. 2
    Any institution that lends out its goods for use by the public or a community.
  3. 3
    A collection of books or other forms of stored information.
  4. 4
    An equivalent collection of analogous information in a non-printed form, e.g. record library.
  5. 5
    A room dedicated to storing books.
  6. 6
    A collection of software routines that provide functionality to be incorporated into or used by a computer program.
  7. 7
    A collection of DNA material from a single organism or relative to a single disease.
  8. 8
    The deck or draw pile.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. She went to exchange her books at her local library.
  2. Libraries have been burnt and whole religious movements wiped out because their belief and myths have been considered to be of dubious origin by the upholders of orthodoxy[.]

Etymology

From Middle English librarie, from Anglo-Norman librarie, from Old French librairie, from Latin librarium (“bookcase, chest for books”), from librarius (“concerning books”), from liber (“the inner bark of trees; paper, parchment, book”), probably derived from a Proto-Indo-European base *leub(ʰ)- (“to strip, to peel”). Displaced native Middle English bochous, bokhus (literally “book house”), from Old English bōchūs (compare bookhouse). Romance cognates often mean “bookshop” instead: French librairie, Italian libreria, Spanish librería, Romanian librărie and Portuguese livraria. This is a relatively recent innovation (16th century in French), which ended up displacing the earlier sense.

This word in other languages

biblioteca(Español)bibliothèque(Français)Bibliothek(Deutsch)biblioteca(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ilbrary
  • lbirary
  • libarry
  • libbrary
  • librarry
  • libraryy
  • librayr
  • librrary
  • librray
  • lirbary
  • llibrary

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

ilbrary2lbirary2libarry2libbrary1librarry1libraryy1librayr2librrary1
Edit distance from "library"

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 "library"?
"library" is spelled L-I-B-R-A-R-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈlaɪ.bɹi/.
What does "library" mean?
As a noun, "library" means: An institution which holds books and/or other forms of media for use by the public or qualified people often lending them out, as well as providing various other services for its users.
What words are commonly confused with "library"?
"library" is commonly confused with "literary", "libra". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "library"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "library" is /ˈlaɪ.bɹi/. 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 "library"?
From Middle English librarie, from Anglo-Norman librarie, from Old French librairie, from Latin librarium (“bookcase, chest for books”), from librarius (“concerning books”), from liber (“the inner bark of trees; paper, parchment, book”), probably ... 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 "library", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

located#1,460highest#1,457freedom#1,454offered#1,464

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (11 here; floor ≥5).

seconds11 variantscomplex11 variantswalking11 variantsfinding11 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list