lobster

/ˈlɒb.stə/

//ˈlɒb.stə// noun

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

"lobster" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“lobster” has 11 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #12,093. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#12,093
frequency rank, English
2,297
“L” headwords
11
tracked misspellings
5
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A crustacean of the Nephropidae family, dark green or blue-black in colour turning bright red when cooked, with a hard shell and claws, which is used as a seafood.

Corpus desk

Index EN-lobster · lobster · English

lobster · rank #12,093 · 11 variants · 5 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #12,093
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 5 pairs
  • VAR-MID 11 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,297
  • PHOTO-FINISH Laurie

Nearest frequency peer: Laurie (-2 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 “lobster”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “lobster” 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).

lobster vs loser
71% similar
lobster vs looser
71% similar
lobster vs luster
71% similar

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

Key facts for lobster
PropertyValue
Headwordlobster
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈlɒb.stə/
Letters7
Frequency rank#12,093
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs5
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “lobster”

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).lobsterlands here:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “Laurie” (#12,091), “loneliness” (#12,095), “kris” (#12,090). Among 2,297 “L” headwords, “lobster” is #12,093. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 11 spelling variants around lobster (IPA /ˈlɒb.stə/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #12,093 among 2,297 “L” headwords. Wiktionary lists 6 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for lobster, with forms such as "lboster", "llobster", and "lobbster". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 5 confusable-pair relationships, "loser", "looser", "luster", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English loppestere, lopster, from Old English loppestre, lopustre, lopystre, of uncertain origin. Some believe it to be a corruption of Latin lō̆custa (“grasshopper, locust”) + the Old English feminine agent suffix -estre. In Latin, the phrase l… The correct English form is lobster, spelled L-O-B-S-T-E-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    A crustacean of the Nephropidae family, dark green or blue-black in colour turning bright red when cooked, with a hard shell and claws, which is used as a seafood.
  2. 2
    Various other crustaceans that resemble true lobsters:
  3. 3
    Various other crustaceans that resemble true lobsters:
  4. 4
    Various other crustaceans that resemble true lobsters:
  5. 5
    A soldier or officer of the imperial British Army (due to their red or scarlet uniform).
  6. 6
    An Australian twenty-dollar note, due to its reddish-orange colour.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. […] how the troops came marching out for evening exercise under Captain Preston; how pedestrians and street urchins taunted them, shouting "Lobsters," "Bloody-backs," and flinging snow-balls, turnips, […]

Etymology

From Middle English loppestere, lopster, from Old English loppestre, lopustre, lopystre, of uncertain origin. Some believe it to be a corruption of Latin lō̆custa (“grasshopper, locust”) + the Old English feminine agent suffix -estre. In Latin, the phrase lō̆custa marīna (literally "sea-grasshopper") signified a type of crustacean (shrimp or lobster). Alternatively, from Old English lobbe, loppe (“spider”) + the Old English feminine agent suffix -estre, equivalent to lop + -ster.

Synonyms

lobsterbackredcoat

This word in other languages

langosta(Español)homard(Français)Hummer(Deutsch)lagosta(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • lboster
  • llobster
  • lobbster
  • lobsetr
  • lobsster
  • lobsterr
  • lobstre
  • lobstter
  • lobtser
  • losbter
  • olbster

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

lboster2llobster1lobbster1lobsetr2lobsster1lobsterr1lobstre2lobstter1
Edit distance from "lobster"

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 "lobster"?
"lobster" is spelled L-O-B-S-T-E-R. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈlɒb.stə/.
What does "lobster" mean?
As a noun, "lobster" means: A crustacean of the Nephropidae family, dark green or blue-black in colour turning bright red when cooked, with a hard shell and claws, which is used as a seafood.
What words are commonly confused with "lobster"?
"lobster" is commonly confused with "loser", "looser", "luster". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "lobster"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "lobster" is /ˈlɒb.stə/. 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 "lobster"?
From Middle English loppestere, lopster, from Old English loppestre, lopustre, lopystre, of uncertain origin. Some believe it to be a corruption of Latin lō̆custa (“grasshopper, locust”) + the Old English feminine agent suffix -estre. In Latin, th... 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 "lobster", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

malaria#12,098Higgins#12,067panther#12,119Perkins#12,122

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (11 here; floor ≥5).

narrowly11 variantsobsolete11 variantsHampton11 variantsrefresh11 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list