lie detector
"lie-detector" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“lie detector” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 12
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A device designed to detect or indicate when a person is lying by measuring and recording several physiological variables.
Corpus desk
Index EN-lie-detector · lie detector · English
lie detector · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MEGA 12 letters
- VOW-5 5 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "L" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
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.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | lie detector |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| Letters | 12 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “lie detector” in English
Rare enough to double-check
lie detector is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A device designed to detect or indicate when a person is lying by measuring and recording several physiological variables.".
lie detector has no tracked misspelling variants, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.
Etymologically, the entry records: From lie + detector. First use appears c. 1909. See cite below. The correct English form is lie detector, spelled L-I-E- -D-E-T-E-C-T-O-R.
Definition
- 1A device designed to detect or indicate when a person is lying by measuring and recording several physiological variables.
Recorded use
Wiktionary exampleThese source excerpts show how lie detector appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
It is a lie detector; with its aid one can plumb the bottomless pits of a chap's subconscious mind, and fathom all the mysteries of his subliminal ego.
Etymology
From lie + detector. First use appears c. 1909. See cite below.
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). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.