lint
/lɪnt/
"lint" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“lint” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #29,346 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #29,346
- frequency rank, English
- 4
- letters
- 6
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Clinging fuzzy fluff that clings to fabric or accumulates in one's pockets or navel etc.
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 | lint |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /lɪnt/ |
| Letters | 4 |
| Frequency rank | #29,346 |
| Misspellings tracked | 6 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “lint” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for lint is 4 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /lɪnt/. Corpus data places it at rank #29,346 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 4 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for lint, with forms such as "ilnt", "linnt", and "lintt". 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, "Lt", "LN", "lot", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English lynet, linet, from Old French linette (“grain of flax”), diminutive of lin (“flax”); or, from Medieval Latin linteum, from Latin līnum (“flax”). The correct English form is lint, spelled L-I-N-T.
Definition
- 1Clinging fuzzy fluff that clings to fabric or accumulates in one's pockets or navel etc.
- 2A fine material made by scraping cotton or linen cloth; used for dressing wounds.
- 3The fibrous coat of thick hairs covering the seeds of the cotton plant.
- 4Raw cotton ready for baling.
Etymology
From Middle English lynet, linet, from Old French linette (“grain of flax”), diminutive of lin (“flax”); or, from Medieval Latin linteum, from Latin līnum (“flax”).
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: ilnt,linnt,lintt,litn,llint,lnit
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of lint - 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
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Using “lint”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is L-I-N-T - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /lɪnt/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “Lt” - see the side-by-side comparison. lint vs Lt
- 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.