loitering

noun

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

"loitering" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“loitering” has 13 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #40,326. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#40,326
frequency rank, English
2,297
“L” headwords
13
tracked misspellings
2
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The action of the verb loiter.

Corpus desk

Index EN-loitering · loitering · English

loitering · rank #40,326 · 13 variants · 2 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #40,326
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 2 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 13 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,297
  • PHOTO-FINISH lookalike

Nearest frequency peer: lookalike (+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 “loitering”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “loitering” 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).

loitering vs lowering
78% similar
loitering vs lettering
78% similar

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

Key facts for loitering
PropertyValue
Headwordloitering
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters9
Frequency rank#40,326
Misspellings tracked13
Confusable pairs2
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “loitering”

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

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “lookalike” (#40,327), “Lawrie” (#40,324), “loveless” (#40,328). Among 2,297 “L” headwords, “loitering” is #40,326. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 13 spelling variants around loitering, anoun. Corpus frequency is #40,326 among 2,297 “L” headwords. Dominant gloss: "The action of the verb loiter.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 13 likely wrong-spelling variants for loitering, with forms such as "liotering", "lloitering", and "loietring". 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 2 confusable-pair relationships, "lowering", "lettering", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

This headword's origin isn't recorded in our source data, so spelling patterns must be inferred from the word's phoneme-to-grapheme mapping rather than from a documented borrowing chain. The correct English form is loitering, spelled L-O-I-T-E-R-I-N-G.

Definition

  1. 1
    The action of the verb loiter.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. NO LOITERING [sign posted where hanging out and causing trouble is unwelcome]
  2. a book about my loiterings in Europe

This word in other languages

vagancia(Español)Herumlungern(Deutsch)vadiagem(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • liotering
  • lloitering
  • loietring
  • loiteirng
  • loiterign
  • loiteringg
  • loiterinng
  • loiternig
  • loiterring
  • loitreing
  • loittering
  • lotiering
  • olitering

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

liotering2lloitering1loietring2loiteirng2loiterign2loiteringg1loiterinng1loiternig2
Edit distance from "loitering"

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 "loitering"?
"loitering" is spelled L-O-I-T-E-R-I-N-G.
What does "loitering" mean?
As a noun, "loitering" means: The action of the verb loiter.
What words are commonly confused with "loitering"?
"loitering" is commonly confused with "lowering", "lettering". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
What language does "loitering" come from?
"loitering" is a English word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
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 "loitering", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

lookalike#40,327Laguardia#40,320modulator#40,345obstinate#40,365

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (13 here; floor ≥5).

inwardly13 variantshyacinth13 variantshomicidal13 variantsGateshead13 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list