limbo
/ˈlɪmbəʊ/
"limbo" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“limbo” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #19,381 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #19,381
- frequency rank, English
- 5
- letters
- 7
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A speculation, thought possibly to be on the edge of the bottomless pit of Hell, where the souls of innocent deceased people might exist temporarily until they can enter heaven, specifically those ...
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | limbo |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈlɪmbəʊ/ |
| Letters | 5 |
| Frequency rank | #19,381 |
| Misspellings tracked | 7 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “limbo” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for limbo is 5 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈlɪmbəʊ/. Corpus data places it at rank #19,381 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 6 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for limbo, with forms such as "ilmbo", "libmo", and "limbbo". 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 20 confusable-pair relationships, "LMAO", "lime", "limp", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.
Etymologically, the entry records: The noun is derived from Middle English limbo, lymbo (“place where innocent souls exist temporarily until they can enter heaven”), from Latin limbō, the ablative singular of limbus (“border, edge; hem; fringe, tassel”) (notably in expressions like in limbō … The correct English form is limbo, spelled L-I-M-B-O.
Definition
- 1A speculation, thought possibly to be on the edge of the bottomless pit of Hell, where the souls of innocent deceased people might exist temporarily until they can enter heaven, specifically those of the saints who died before the advent of Jesus Christ (who occupy the limbo patrum or limbo of the patriarchs or fathers) and those of unbaptized infants (who occupy the limbo infantum or limbo of the infants); (countable) the possible place where each category of souls might exist, regarded separately.
- 2Chiefly preceded by in: any in-between place, or condition or state, of neglect or oblivion which results in deadlock, delay, or some other unresolved status.
- 3Jail, prison; (countable) a jail cell or lockup.
- 4Synonym of Hades or Hell.
- 5Synonym of pawn (“the state of something being held as security for a loan, or as a pledge”).
- 6A type of antisubmarine mortar installed on naval vessels.
Etymology
The noun is derived from Middle English limbo, lymbo (“place where innocent souls exist temporarily until they can enter heaven”), from Latin limbō, the ablative singular of limbus (“border, edge; hem; fringe, tassel”) (notably in expressions like in limbō (“in limbo”) and e limbō (“out of limbo”)); further etymology uncertain, possibly from Proto-Indo-European *lemb- (“to hang limply or loosely”), from Proto-Indo-European *leb- (“to hang down loosely (?)”). Doublet of limp. The verb is derived from the noun.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: ilmbo,libmo,limbbo,limmbo,limob,llimbo,lmibo
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of limbo - 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.
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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Using “limbo”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is L-I-M-B-O - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈlɪmbəʊ/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “LMAO” - see the side-by-side comparison. limbo vs LMAO
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.