linesman
"linesman" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“linesman” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #47,729 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #47,729
- frequency rank, English
- 8
- letters
- 12
- tracked misspellings
- 2
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - An assistant referee.
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 | linesman |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #47,729 |
| Misspellings tracked | 12 |
| Confusable pairs | 2 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “linesman” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for linesman is 8 letters long, classified as a noun. Corpus data places it at rank #47,729 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 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for linesman, with forms such as "ilnesman", "liensman", and "linemsan". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 2 confusable-pair relationships, "lineman", "lifespan", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.
Etymologically, the entry records: From line + -s- + -man. The correct English form is linesman, spelled L-I-N-E-S-M-A-N.
Definition
- 1An assistant referee.
- 2A male line judge.
- 3An official whose primary task is to watch the blue line and determine when there has been an offside.
- 4An official whose primary task is to determine whether there has been a line of scrimmage violation.
- 5A person employed to work on electrical lines; a lineman.
- 6A private in the line.
Etymology
From line + -s- + -man.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: ilnesman,liensman,linemsan,linesamn,linesmann,linesmman,linesmna,linessman,linnesman,linseman,llinesman,lniesman
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of linesman - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.
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 "linesman"?
What does "linesman" mean?
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Using “linesman”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is L-I-N-E-S-M-A-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Don't mix it up with “lineman” - see the side-by-side comparison. linesman vs lineman
- 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.