lima
/ˈlaɪmə/noun
lima is spelled L-I-M-A: 4 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 3.8 times per million words in written English, the 13,321st most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data, counting Lima, the name). As a noun, lima means “Lima bean (the plant, Phaseolus lunatus)” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of lima is limas.
How many letters and syllables are in lima?
| Letters | 4: L-I-M-A |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 3.8 times per million words; the 13,321st most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with | |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is lima?
Lima appears 3.8 times per million words in written English, the 13,321st most frequent word form in the list. The list counts every capitalisation together, so this includes Lima, the name.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce lima?
- US /ˈlaɪmə/
Lima has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-lima.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with lima?
One word on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as lima from its last stressed vowel (/aɪmə/):
Spelled with the same letters in another order: mail, mali, alim.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of lima
- limas plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does lima mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Lima bean (the plant, Phaseolus lunatus).
We planted limas with the corn last night.
- 2
Lima bean (the fruit of the plant).
We had limas with dinner last night.
- 3
Alternative letter-case form of Lima from the NATO/ICAO Phonetic Alphabet.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Where does lima come from?
Ellipsis of lima bean. Doublet of Lima.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).