licker
/ˈlɪkɚ/
"licker" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“licker” is uncommon English (frequency #69,207 among 2,297 “L” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #69,207
- frequency rank, English
- 2,297
- “L” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Someone or something that licks.
Corpus desk
Index EN-licker · licker · English
licker · rank #69,207 · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-RARE #69,207
- LEN-LONG 6 letters
- VOW-2 2 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-MID 2,297
- PHOTO-FINISH LFS
Nearest frequency peer: LFS (-3 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.
Long-tail ranks near “licker”
Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter
- Leeson
Leeson
30,800 corpus weight
- LFS
LFS
30,797 corpus weight
- licker
licker
30,794 corpus weight
- ligatures
ligatures
30,790 corpus weight
- lovie
lovie
30,788 corpus weight
- lulls
lulls
30,787 corpus weight
What this shows Long-tail view: where “licker” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | licker |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈlɪkɚ/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #69,207 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “licker” in English
Rare enough to double-check
licker is uncommon English at frequency #69,207 among 2,297 “L” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈlɪkɚ/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Someone or something that licks.".
Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for licker, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. Our dataset records no confusable match here, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English likkere, lykkare, equivalent to lick + -er. Cognate with Saterland Frisian Läkker, Dutch likker, German Low German Licker, German Lecker. The correct English form is licker, spelled L-I-C-K-E-R.
Definition
- 1Someone or something that licks.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how licker appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
When the back of the stamp is licked the first result is to leave on the tongue of the licker an unpleasant coating which demands the instant application of water to wash it off.
[…] and enjoy wide-open views of St. Kilda beach and its passing parade of in-line skaters, skateboarders, dog walkers, and ice-cream lickers.
Etymology
From Middle English likkere, lykkare, equivalent to lick + -er. Cognate with Saterland Frisian Läkker, Dutch likker, German Low German Licker, German Lecker.
This word in other languages
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
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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "licker", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).