lode

/ləʊd/

//ləʊd// noun

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

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

The verdict

“lode” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #41,231) as a noun. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#41,231
frequency rank, English
2,297
“L” headwords
3
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A way or path; a road.

Corpus desk

Index EN-lode · lode · English

lode · rank #41,231 · 3 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #41,231
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-LOW 3 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,297
  • PHOTO-FINISH loathsome

Nearest frequency peer: loathsome (-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.

Frequency neighbours of confusable “lode”

Peers at similar corpus weight, separate from look-alike pairs below

corpus weight

What this shows Bars place “lode” against nearest ranked English headwords, not a reprint of the confusable-pair desk.

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).

lode vs lot
50% similar
lode vs low
50% similar
lode vs lol
50% similar

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

Key facts for lode
PropertyValue
Headwordlode
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ləʊd/
Letters4
Frequency rank#41,231
Misspellings tracked3
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Corpus rank beside confusables of “lode”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).lodelands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “loathsome” (#41,230), “lithography” (#41,229), “loins” (#41,233). Among 2,297 “L” headwords, “lode” is #41,231. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for lode is neighbouring look-alikes ("lot", "low", …), not just typos; it is anoun pronounced /ləʊd/. Frequency #41,231 among 2,297 “L” headwords. 4 recorded senses keep meaning in play.

Our generated misspelling index lists 3 likely wrong-spelling variants for lode, with forms such as "ldoe", "llode", and "lodde". 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, "lot", "low", "lol", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: Doublet of load, which has however become semantically restricted. The now-archaic lode continues the old sense of Old English lād (“way, course, journey”) but by the 19th century survived only dialectally in the sense of “watercourse”, as a technical term … The correct English form is lode, spelled L-O-D-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A way or path; a road.
  2. 2
    A watercourse.
  3. 3
    A vein of metallic ore that lies within definite boundaries, or within a fissure.
  4. 4
    A rich source of supply.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. The metals traditionally sought in the Bristol Bay region have been gold and copper, mostly in deposits near Lake Iliamna. An exception is a gold lode discovered about 1930 near Sleitat Mountain (4), where about $200 in gold was recovered from small quartz veins near the periphery of a small granitic intrusive body.
  2. In recent years, Jack Grieve of the department of English and linguistics at the University of Birmingham in England has embraced Twitter as a bountiful lode for looking at language-use patterns.

Etymology

Doublet of load, which has however become semantically restricted. The now-archaic lode continues the old sense of Old English lād (“way, course, journey”) but by the 19th century survived only dialectally in the sense of “watercourse”, as a technical term in mining, and in the compounds lodestone, lodestar.

This word in other languages

filón(Español)filon(Français)Ader(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ldoe
  • llode
  • lodde

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

ldoe2llode1lodde1
Edit distance from "lode"

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 "lode"?
"lode" is spelled L-O-D-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ləʊd/.
What does "lode" mean?
As a noun, "lode" means: A way or path; a road.
What words are commonly confused with "lode"?
"lode" is commonly confused with "lot", "low", "lol". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "lode"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "lode" is /ləʊd/. 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 "lode"?
Doublet of load, which has however become semantically restricted. The now-archaic lode continues the old sense of Old English lād (“way, course, journey”) but by the 19th century survived only dialectally in the sense of “watercourse”, as a techn... 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 "lode", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

Meir#41,249jeon#41,205MRSA#41,266Neff#41,274

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list