livelihood

/ˈlaɪvlihʊd/

//ˈlaɪvlihʊd// noun

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

"livelihood" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“livelihood” has 14 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #16,743. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#16,743
frequency rank, English
2,297
“L” headwords
14
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A means of providing the necessities of life for oneself (for example, a job or income).

Corpus desk

Index EN-livelihood · livelihood · English

livelihood · rank #16,743 · 14 variants · 1 confusable

  • FREQ-MID #16,743
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 14 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,297
  • PHOTO-FINISH Libyan

Nearest frequency peer: Libyan (-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 “livelihood”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “livelihood” 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).

livelihood vs likelihood
90% similar

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

Key facts for livelihood
PropertyValue
Headwordlivelihood
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈlaɪvlihʊd/
Letters10
Frequency rank#16,743
Misspellings tracked14
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “livelihood”

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).livelihoodlands 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 “Libyan” (#16,742), “Livingston” (#16,744), “lavish” (#16,741). Among 2,297 “L” headwords, “livelihood” is #16,743. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 14 spelling variants around livelihood (IPA /ˈlaɪvlihʊd/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #16,743 among 2,297 “L” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 14 likely wrong-spelling variants for livelihood, with forms such as "ilvelihood", "lievlihood", and "liveilhood". 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 1 confusable-pair relationship, "likelihood", 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 liflode, from Old English līflād (“course of life, conduct”), from līf (“life”) + lād (“course, journey”), later altered under the influence of lively, -hood. Compare life, lode. The correct English form is livelihood, spelled L-I-V-E-L-I-H-O-O-D.

Definition

  1. 1
    A means of providing the necessities of life for oneself (for example, a job or income).
  2. 2
    Property which brings in an income; an estate.
  3. 3
    Liveliness; appearance of life.
  4. 4
    The course of someone's life; a person's lifetime, or their manner of living; conduct, behaviour.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how livelihood appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. an independent livelihood; to make / earn / gain / win a good livelihood by the sweat of one's brow
  2. But now when Philtra ſaw my lands decay, And former liuelod fayle, ſhe left me quight[…].

Etymology

From Middle English liflode, from Old English līflād (“course of life, conduct”), from līf (“life”) + lād (“course, journey”), later altered under the influence of lively, -hood. Compare life, lode.

This word in other languages

sustento(Español)gagne-pain(Français)Lebensunterhalt(Deutsch)ganha-pão(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ilvelihood
  • lievlihood
  • liveilhood
  • livelhiood
  • livelihhood
  • livelihod
  • livelihodo
  • livelihoodd
  • liveliohod
  • livellihood
  • livleihood
  • livvelihood
  • llivelihood
  • lvielihood

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

ilvelihood2lievlihood2liveilhood2livelhiood2livelihhood1livelihod1livelihodo2livelihoodd1
Edit distance from "livelihood"

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 "livelihood"?
"livelihood" is spelled L-I-V-E-L-I-H-O-O-D. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈlaɪvlihʊd/.
What does "livelihood" mean?
As a noun, "livelihood" means: A means of providing the necessities of life for oneself (for example, a job or income).
What words are commonly confused with "livelihood"?
"livelihood" is commonly confused with "likelihood". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "livelihood"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "livelihood" is /ˈlaɪvlihʊd/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "livelihood"?
From Middle English liflode, from Old English līflād (“course of life, conduct”), from līf (“life”) + lād (“course, journey”), later altered under the influence of lively, -hood. Compare life, lode. 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 "livelihood", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 10 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Livingston#16,744irritation#16,736Hutchinson#16,729persecuted#16,768

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (14 here; floor ≥5).

Mansfield14 variantsintrusion14 variantsGreenland14 variantsphosphate14 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list