English Word Reference Free

lid

Definition, pronunciation, etymology, and usage for the English word. Free spelling reference powered by Wiktionary.

Letters

3 characters

Language

English

word origin

Source

Wiktionary

open dictionary

Access

Free

no sign-up needed

Detailed reference entry for the English word "lid", 3-letters, with pronunciation in International Phonetic Alphabet notation, etymology traced through Germanic and Romance roots where applicable, common misspelling variants catalogued from Hunspell error dictionaries, and usage frequency ranked against the top 100,000 English words in the Wordfreq corpus. PlainSpell covers English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German spelling with confusable-pair detection that highlights visually and phonetically similar words. This entry for "lid" includes synonyms, antonyms, homophones, and cross-language translation pointers sourced from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org extract. Whether you are verifying the correct spelling of "lid" for academic writing, checking homophone confusion, or exploring etymological origins, this page provides a citation-backed, free reference that requires no sign-up.

lid is aEnglishnoun. It means: The top or cover of a container. Pronounced /lɪd/. It ranks #9,491 in English word frequency. Often confused with Lt and lo.

Key facts for lid
PropertyValue
Headwordlid
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/lɪd/
Letters3
Frequency rank#9,491
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency rank visualization

Position of lid in English word frequency (lower rank = more common)

Source: Wordfreq corpus

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for lid is 3 letters long, classified as anoun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /lɪd/. Corpus data places it at rank #9,491 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text.Wiktionary records 11 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

No frequent misspelling variants are recorded for lid in our index, suggesting the orthography either follows predictable English patterns or the word is uncommon enough that typo corpora lack signal.It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "Lt", "lo", "LP", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: Inherited from Middle English lid, lyd, from Old English hlid, from Proto-West Germanic *hlid, from Proto-Germanic *hlidą (compare Dutch lid, German Lid (“eyelid”), Swedish lid (“gate”)), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱlitós (“covered”), from Proto-Indo-Europea… Root origin matters for spelling because borrowed morphemes (Greek, Latin, Old French, Old English) carry their source-language orthographic conventions into modern English, which is why historical etymology is often the cleanest predictor of whether a cluster like "-ough", "-eau", or "-tion" will appear. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct English form is lid, spelled L-I-D, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

Definition

  1. 1
    The top or cover of a container.
  2. 2
    A cap or hat.
  3. 3
    One ounce of cannabis.
  4. 4
    A bodyboard or bodyboarder.
  5. 5
    An operculum or other lid-like cover.
  6. 6
    A motorcyclist's crash helmet.
  7. 7
    In amateur radio, an incompetent operator.
  8. 8
    Clipping of eyelid.
  9. 9
    A hermetically sealed top piece on a microchip such as the integrated heat spreader on a CPU.
  10. 10
    A restraint or control, as when "putting a lid" on something.
  11. 11
    A kid (from the rhyming slang bin lid).

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English lid, lyd, from Old English hlid, from Proto-West Germanic *hlid, from Proto-Germanic *hlidą (compare Dutch lid, German Lid (“eyelid”), Swedish lid (“gate”)), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱlitós (“covered”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱley- (“to cover”).

This word in other languages

Frequency rank: #9,491 in English

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "lid"?
"lid" is spelled L-I-D. The IPA pronunciation is /lɪd/.
What does "lid" mean?
As a noun, "lid" means: The top or cover of a container.
What words are commonly confused with "lid"?
"lid" is commonly confused with "Lt", "lo", "LP". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "lid"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "lid" is /lɪd/. 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 "lid"?
Inherited from Middle English lid, lyd, from Old English hlid, from Proto-West Germanic *hlid, from Proto-Germanic *hlidą (compare Dutch lid, German Lid (“eyelid”), Swedish lid (“gate”)), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱlitós (“covered”), from Proto-In... 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.

Nearby English words

Other entries that begin with the letter L in our English index:

Explore PlainSpell

Data Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Frequency data from Wordfreq. Misspellings derived from Hunspell dictionaries.