lire

noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"lire" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“lire” has 5 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #33,310. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#33,310
frequency rank, English
2,297
“L” headwords
5
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Flesh, brawn, or muscle; the fleshy part of a person or animal in contradistinction to the bone and skin.

Corpus desk

Index EN-lire · lire · English

lire · rank #33,310 · 5 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #33,310
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 5 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,297
  • PHOTO-FINISH lifesaving

Nearest frequency peer: lifesaving (-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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “lire”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “lire” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

lire vs LR
0% similar
lire vs lit
50% similar
lire vs Liz
25% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for lire
PropertyValue
Headwordlire
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters4
Frequency rank#33,310
Misspellings tracked5
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “lire”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).lirelands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “lifesaving” (#33,309), “Levi's” (#33,308), “Lovecraft” (#33,312). Among 2,297 “L” headwords, “lire” is #33,310. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 5 spelling variants around lire, anoun. Corpus frequency is #33,310 among 2,297 “L” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 5 likely wrong-spelling variants for lire, with forms such as "ilre", "lier", and "lirre". 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, "LR", "lit", "Liz", 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 lire, lyre, from Old English līra (“any fleshy part of the body, muscle, calf of the leg”), from Proto-Germanic *ligwizô, *lihwizô (“thigh, groin”), from Proto-Indo-European *lekʷs-, *lewks- (“groin”). Cognate with Dutch lies (“groin”), … The correct English form is lire, spelled L-I-R-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Flesh, brawn, or muscle; the fleshy part of a person or animal in contradistinction to the bone and skin.
  2. 2
    The fleshy part of a roast capon, etc. as distinguished from a limb or joint.

Etymology

From Middle English lire, lyre, from Old English līra (“any fleshy part of the body, muscle, calf of the leg”), from Proto-Germanic *ligwizô, *lihwizô (“thigh, groin”), from Proto-Indo-European *lekʷs-, *lewks- (“groin”). Cognate with Dutch lies (“groin”), Swedish lår (“thigh”).

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ilre
  • lier
  • lirre
  • llire
  • lrie

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of lire - 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.

ilre2lier2lirre1llire1lrie2
Edit distance from "lire"

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 "lire"?
"lire" is spelled L-I-R-E.
What does "lire" mean?
As a noun, "lire" means: Flesh, brawn, or muscle; the fleshy part of a person or animal in contradistinction to the bone and skin.
What words are commonly confused with "lire"?
"lire" is commonly confused with "LR", "lit", "Liz". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
What is the origin of the word "lire"?
From Middle English lire, lyre, from Old English līra (“any fleshy part of the body, muscle, calf of the leg”), from Proto-Germanic *ligwizô, *lihwizô (“thigh, groin”), from Proto-Indo-European *lekʷs-, *lewks- (“groin”). Cognate with Dutch lies (... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "lire", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Lula#33,315maha#33,317nene#33,341nerf#33,342

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (5 here; floor ≥5).

Pitts5 variantsdoggo5 variantssewed5 variantsdaze5 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list