locust

/ˈləʊ.kəst/

//ˈləʊ.kəst// noun

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

"locust" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“locust” has 9 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #28,979. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#28,979
frequency rank, English
2,297
“L” headwords
9
tracked misspellings
10
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Any of the grasshoppers, often polyphenic and usually swarming, in the family Acrididae that are very destructive to crops and other vegetation, especially migratory locusts (Locusta migratoria).

Corpus desk

Index EN-locust · locust · English

locust · rank #28,979 · 9 variants · 10 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #28,979
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 10 pairs
  • VAR-MID 9 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,297
  • PHOTO-FINISH Lombard

Nearest frequency peer: Lombard (+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 “locust”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “locust” 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).

locust vs lost
67% similar
locust vs lust
67% similar
locust vs lotus
67% similar

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

Key facts for locust
PropertyValue
Headwordlocust
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈləʊ.kəst/
Letters6
Frequency rank#28,979
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs10
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “locust”

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).locustlands 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 “Lombard” (#28,980), “lisp” (#28,977), “looney” (#28,981). Among 2,297 “L” headwords, “locust” is #28,979. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 9 spelling variants around locust (IPA /ˈləʊ.kəst/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #28,979 among 2,297 “L” headwords. Wiktionary lists 6 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for locust, with forms such as "lcoust", "llocust", and "loccust". 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 10 confusable-pair relationships, "lost", "lust", "lotus", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *lek-der.? Latin locusta Anglo-Norman locustebor. Middle English locuste English locust Inherited from Middle English locuste, locust, from Anglo-Norman locuste, Middle French locuste, and their source, Latin locustam (“lo… The correct English form is locust, spelled L-O-C-U-S-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    Any of the grasshoppers, often polyphenic and usually swarming, in the family Acrididae that are very destructive to crops and other vegetation, especially migratory locusts (Locusta migratoria).
  2. 2
    A fruit or pod of a carob tree (Ceratonia siliqua).
  3. 3
    Any of various often leguminous trees and shrubs, especially of the genera Robinia and Gleditsia; locust tree.
  4. 4
    A cicada.
  5. 5
    A mainlander.
  6. 6
    A dose of laudanum.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Among other articles, they brought with them a great quantity of locusts, which are a kind of pulse, sweet and pleasant to the palate, and in shape resembling French beans, but longer.
  2. I took my flogging like a stone. If I had sung, some of the convicts would have given me some lush with a locust in it (laudanum hocussing), and when I was asleep would have given me a crack on the head that would have laid me straight.

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *lek-der.? Latin locusta Anglo-Norman locustebor. Middle English locuste English locust Inherited from Middle English locuste, locust, from Anglo-Norman locuste, Middle French locuste, and their source, Latin locustam (“locust, crustacean, lobster”, accusative of locusta). Doublet of langouste. Noun sense 3 (“kind of tree”), originally referring to the carob (compare locust bean), is based on the resemblance of the trees' beanlike seed pods to the insect and is likely a semantic loan from Ancient Greek ἀκρίς (akrís). Noun sense 5 (“mainlander”) is a semantic loan from Cantonese 蝗蟲 /蝗虫 (wong4 cung4), also meaning "locust".

This word in other languages

langosta(Español)locuste(Français)Heuschrecke(Deutsch)gafanhoto(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • lcoust
  • llocust
  • loccust
  • locsut
  • locusst
  • locustt
  • locuts
  • loucst
  • olcust

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

lcoust2llocust1loccust1locsut2locusst1locustt1locuts2loucst2
Edit distance from "locust"

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 "locust"?
"locust" is spelled L-O-C-U-S-T. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈləʊ.kəst/.
What does "locust" mean?
As a noun, "locust" means: Any of the grasshoppers, often polyphenic and usually swarming, in the family Acrididae that are very destructive to crops and other vegetation, especially migratory locusts (Locusta migratoria).
What words are commonly confused with "locust"?
"locust" is commonly confused with "lost", "lust", "lotus". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "locust"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "locust" is /ˈləʊ.kəst/. 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 "locust"?
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *lek-der.? Latin locusta Anglo-Norman locustebor. Middle English locuste English locust Inherited from Middle English locuste, locust, from Anglo-Norman locuste, Middle French locuste, and their source, Latin loc... 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 "locust", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

looney#28,981Lawton#28,972Malaya#28,986mallet#28,987

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (9 here; floor ≥5).

Lubbock9 variantsminced9 variantsmishap9 variantsinstill9 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list