lin
/lɪn/
"lin" is a 3-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“lin” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #9,623) as a verb. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.
- #9,623
- frequency rank, English
- 2,297
- “L” headwords
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To desist, to stop, to cease.
Corpus desk
Index EN-lin · lin · English
lin · rank #9,623 · 0 variants · 20 confusables
- FREQ-COMMON #9,623
- LEN-MID 3 letters
- VOW-1 1 vowel
- CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-MID 2,297
- PHOTO-FINISH lacked
Nearest frequency peer: lacked (-1 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.
Frequency neighbourhood for “lin”
Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)
- inheritance
inheritance
90,382 corpus weight
- ironic
ironic
90,380 corpus weight
- lacked
lacked
90,379 corpus weight
- lin
lin
90,378 corpus weight
- luggage
luggage
90,377 corpus weight
- Lyon
Lyon
90,376 corpus weight
What this shows Bars show where “lin” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.
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 | lin |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /lɪn/ |
| Letters | 3 |
| Frequency rank | #9,623 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “lin” sits in English frequency
Easy to mix with look-alikes
The spelling risk for lin is neighbouring look-alikes ("Lt", "lo", …), not just typos; it is averb pronounced /lɪn/. Frequency #9,623 among 2,297 “L” headwords. Gloss: "To desist, to stop, to cease.".
lin doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. 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: From Middle English linnen, from Old English linnan (“to cease from, desist, lose, yield up”), from Proto-West Germanic *linnan, from Proto-Germanic *linnaną (“to turn, move aside, avoid”), from Proto-Indo-European *ley- (“to elude, avoid, shrink from”). Co… The correct English form is lin, spelled L-I-N.
Definition
- 1To desist, to stop, to cease.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how lin appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Halfe furious vnto his foe he came, / Resolv'd in minde all suddenly to win, / Or soone to lose, before he once would lin [...].
Till all war deaun I knaw thou wad not lin.
Etymology
From Middle English linnen, from Old English linnan (“to cease from, desist, lose, yield up”), from Proto-West Germanic *linnan, from Proto-Germanic *linnaną (“to turn, move aside, avoid”), from Proto-Indo-European *ley- (“to elude, avoid, shrink from”). Cognate with Danish linne (“to stop, rest”), dialectal Swedish linna (“to pause, rest”), Icelandic linna (“to stop, rest”).
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
How do you spell "lin"?
What does "lin" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "lin"?
How do you pronounce "lin"?
What is the origin of the word "lin"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "lin", not the corpus desk frequency band.
What to do next
You've looked up "lin". Here's where to go from here.
- "lin" maps to 20 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "Lt". View pair
- Usage frequency rank #9,623 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
- Browse more English words in the "L" letter cohort. L–Z browse
- PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day
PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.
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.